UAW union members on strike, September 26, 2023 in Ontario, California (AFP/Archives/Patrick T. Fallon)
An unprecedented six-week strike among the three major American automobile manufacturers is coming to an end thanks to the agreement in principle reached Monday between General Motors and the UAW union, after those of Ford and Stellantis, agreements described as “historic” by President Joe Biden.
“These record agreements reward the workers in the automobile industry who made a lot of sacrifices to keep the sector operating” during the great economic crisis of 2009, said the American president.
Mr. Biden has made his support for unions a hallmark of his term, and the UAW’s support of his 2020 candidacy helped him swing Michigan in his favor, as the state voted for Donald Trump in 2016.
The president went on a picket line in front of a General Motors factory at the end of September.
Announced on Monday morning by sources close to the negotiations to AFP and American media, confirmation of the agreement in principle between GM and the UAW arrived around 8:00 p.m. GMT, a few minutes after the close of the New York Stock Exchange. York.
According to a press release from the union, the manufacturer has accepted – like its two competitors – an increase in the base salary of 25% over the four years of the collective agreement.
This is lower than the 40% that Shawn Fain demanded at the launch of the strike but it is significantly higher than the 9% initially proposed by Ford in August for example.
– The UAW expands –
The multiple salary scales will disappear at GM, retirees will receive several bonuses and two “crucial” entities of the group specializing in batteries, Ultium Cells and GM Subsystems, will enter the fold of the union, he welcomed.
GM did not immediately respond.
“The Big Three have now signed an agreement in principle with the UAW. The three agreements break records and further unite our union,” noted the UAW in its press release.
These agreements must be validated by a national commission of the union then ratified by a vote of its members – which can take two weeks.
The UAW has already announced that all strikers will return to work without waiting for these votes.
The movement was triggered on September 15 due to lack of agreement on the expiry of collective agreements, mobilizing at its peak more than 45,000 of the 146,000 registered with the UAW working for these three major historic American manufacturers.
It was the first time since the union’s founding in 1935 that the “Big Three” were targeted by a simultaneous strike, which grew in intensity over the roughly six weeks it lasted.
– Major factories –
After calling for walkouts in secondary factories and parts distribution centers, the UAW struck hard by targeting the largest and “most lucrative” factory in each of the three groups in Detroit (Michigan). .
Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant, which has annual sales of $25 billion, was included in the strike on October 11.
The manufacturer reached an agreement in principle on Wednesday, after 41 days of strike, and Stellantis (Chrysler, Jeep, etc.) did the same three days later.
Ford “put 50% more on the table than when we walked out,” rejoiced Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, when announcing the agreement with the manufacturer.
“Once again, we have obtained what we were told was impossible a few weeks ago,” he noted on Saturday, announcing the agreement with Stellantis.
These agreements provide for salary increases over the duration of the four-year collective agreements, cost of living adjustment measures, social benefits, improvements for retirees, among others.
They also contain specificities depending on the group, such as at Stellantis in terms of employment.
– Factory “saved” –
The group has in fact committed to creating 5,000 positions even though it had planned cuts in particular in the context of the criticized closure of a factory in Belvidere (Illinois) which is “saved”, according to Rich Boyer, vice-president of the UAW.
“We won a new vehicle in Belvidere,” he said on Saturday.
“Workers haven’t had this much leverage in decades, and certainly not since the 2008-2009 recession,” Susan Schurman, a professor specializing in labor relations at the University, told AFP. Rutgers University.
In the automobile industry, “employees made enormous sacrifices” during the sector’s rescue after the 2008 crisis and now, with the recovery, “managers are receiving a lot of money and workers want their share,” he said. she continued.
“Another record quarter, another record year. As we have been saying for months: record profits mean record contracts,” commented Shawn Fain, after the publication of GM’s quarterly results on October 24.
© 2023 AFP
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