How the UAW Won Raises and Bonuses by Striking for Six Weeks

To hear the United Auto Workers’ fiery president, Shawn Fain, tell it, Detroit’s Big Three automakers enjoyed years of lavish profits thanks to concessions made by its workers through the lean years before and after the 2009 recession. So as the UAW’s contract with Ford Motor, General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis expired in mid-September, the UAW authorized targeted strikes against all three manufacturers — a historical first. By the end of October, the union had tentative agreements that included record pay increases, an aggressive cap on the use of lower-paid temp workers, and the right to strike over plant closures.

Their deals, which still must be ratified by the UAW membership, are broadly similar. Ford agreed to record pay increases of more than 30%, with additional cost-of-living increases to come. Ford’s lowest-paid workers will get an immediate raise of 88%. Top pay will go to $42.60 an hour, and there’s a $5,000 ratification bonus and a $1,500 voucher toward a new vehicle purchase. The deal also includes job security agreements, full-time jobs for temporary workers and a “pathway” for future EV workers to be covered by the union. GM agreed to a 25% hourly pay increase plus cost-of-living allowances. That agreement also brings additional workers into the contract, including those at the Ultium Cells venture making electric-vehicle batteries. Complete details of the tentative agreement with Stellantis, maker of the Jeep and Chrysler brands, weren’t available, although the automaker did match Ford’s pay hikes and agree to reopen an idled assembly plant, a coup for the union.