UAW ratifies record contract deals with the Big Three

The United Auto Workers (UAW) Union members at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have voted in favour of recently proposed contracts from the Big Three, locking in record gains.

With 64% of voting members ratifying the agreements, the majority vote will help to deliver hefty wage increases and a number of other gains that the union have been campaigning for during their six-week-long strike.

“The members have spoken. After years of cutbacks, months of our Stand Up campaign, and weeks on the picket line, we have turned the tide for the American autoworker,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.

Deals that were secured in the agreements by the autoworkers are similar across all of the Big Three. The summary of deals scored across the three automakers include members seeing a raise of at least 33% on wages and a faster rate of progression for workers to the top pay rate, falling from eight years to three years. See full details of the contracted agreements here.

The agreement is expected to create inroads for other non-union autoworkers as the UAW President is confident that the strike has inspired other autoworkers to campaign for better employment deals.

Fain added:

“The Stand Up Strike was just the beginning. The UAW is back to setting the standard. Now, we take our strike muscle and our fighting spirit to the rest of the industries we represent, and to millions of non-union workers ready to Stand Up and fight for a better way of life,”

The agreements have expectedly generated a number of similar responses from non-union plants in the US as significant wage increases surge across the auto industry. Toyota, Hyundai and Honda have all hiked their worker’s wages only days after the record deals were ratified by the majority vote.

All across the auto industry, non-union autoworkers are getting the UAW Bump. That stands for U. Are. Welcome. You are welcome to join our union, and you are welcome to join our movement for a better life. pic.twitter.com/yRGqCDz5jK

— UAW (@UAW) November 20, 2023

Fain claimed that “thousands” of workers have already contacted the UAW and signed union cards.

He said:

“We are going to organise like we’ve never organised before, because our strike has shown the Nissan worker in Alabama, and the Volkswagen worker in Tennessee, and the Toyota worker in Kentucky, and the Tesla worker in California that when union members win, the entire working-class wins.”

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