Workers at General Motors have become the first of the Big Three to ratify the United Autoworkers contract agreement with the automaker, but it was a much closer vote than you may have thought. The agreement passed by a 55 percent to 45 percent margin, according to Automotive News.
That works out to “yes” winning by about 3,300 votes out of the more than 35,000 cast. The overwhelming support from workers at a joint-venture battery plant and parts depot who will end up getting the largest raises made up for the “no” votes cast by 53 percent of employees at assembly, metal and propulsion plants. The deal apparently received support from about 82 percent of workers at parts plants and distribution centers, and 96 percent of Ultium Cell battery plant workers gave the thumbs up to the historic contract.
This vote was a bit of a nail-biter, 2020 election-style. In fact, the agreement was actually in doubt earlier this week after the majority of workers at seven of GM’s 11 U.S. assembly plants rejected it, AutoNews says. However, support from 61 percent of workers at Arlington Assembly in Texas kept the deal alive.
Some folks voted no because of many “hot-button issues” for GM employees, according to The Detroit Free Press. A number of employees are not in favor of reinstating pensions and getting rid of different ties of wages among other things.
Meanwhile, the UAW’s deals with Ford and Stellantis reportedly are enjoying a far easier path toward ratification, and they are passing by about a two-to-one margin. Good for them, I suppose.
Here are some of the highlights of the deal, according to Auto News:
The GM agreement, which runs through April 2028, includes roughly $2 billion in new investment for future electric vehicle and parts production at three plants, brings employees at GM’s joint-venture battery plants under the national UAW agreement and bumps wages and retirement contributions for its U.S. hourly work force. With the restoration of a cost-of-living adjustment, top wages would rise from about $32 per hour today to more than $42 by the end of the deal, and new hires would get to that level in three years instead of eight.
Temporary workers with at least 90 days on the job will see their wages rise between 51 and 115 percent at ratification as they are converted to full-time employees with seniority, the union has said.
You can expect the other two members of the Big Three to ratify contracts sooner rather than later, and we’ll be sure to bring you those updates as they come in.