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UAW Announces Tentative Agreement With Ford

The UAW must now send the agreement out to members for ratification while work resumes

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    Chase Bierenkoven has been writing about cars in his head since he was a child. Now, he does it for real, covering automotive news and producing reviews for outlets like Edmunds, Forbes Wheels and CarBuzz. Chase's career as an automotive journalist began in 2020, and he has already written scores of road tests. Some favorites of Chase's include the Dodge Challenger 392, Mazda Miata, Kia EV6 and Bentley Bentayga. Outside his work with cars, Chase is often found justifying his latest broken German sports car to anyone that will listen or enjoying the outdoor spaces of his native Colorado.
  • Ford and the UAW have reached a tentative agreement to end strikes at Ford manufacturing facilities.
  • The agreement must now be ratified by union members.
  • While the ratification process begins, striking Ford workers will return to work.
  • Both GM and Stellantis are still negotiating with the UAW.

Forty-one days after strikes began, the United Auto Workers union has announced a tentative agreement with Ford, allowing all Ford UAW workers to return to work at plants that produce vehicles like the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator while the ratification process begins. The UAW touts the tentative agreement as “historic” and values the deal at more than four times the value of its 2019 contract.

The agreement includes a 25% general wage increase over the course of the current contract’s 4.5-year duration (April 2028); combined with cost-of-living adjustments (or COLA), the UAW’s top wage tier will rise 30% to more than $40 per hour. Starting wages for UAW workers see the greatest gain, rising 68% to more than $28 per hour, and the lowest-paid temporary workers at Ford will see their wages rise more than 150% over the contract term. The UAW says certain workers at the Rawsonville and Sterling Axle parts plants in Michigan will see an immediate 85% raise in wages upon ratification.

Some of the UAW’s biggest bargaining points — such as the reinstatement of COLA, a three-year wage progression, and the abolishment of wage tiers — were all agreed to by Ford. The new contract also provides enhanced benefits for current union retirees and workers with pensions and 401(k) plans.

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UAW ratification chart

For now, the ratification process begins. First, the UAW National Ford Council must vote on whether to send the agreement to UAW members. Then, there will be a Facebook Live session where the agreement will be reviewed publicly. This is the point where the public will be able to see the agreement’s full details. Following the Live session, regional meetings will be held, where the agreement will be reviewed with local leaders. After that, leadership of the locals will hold meetings with their members to review and discuss the agreement, and then put the agreement to a vote. It isn’t clear yet how long this process will take, but the agreement places pressure on both GM and Stellantis to reach a deal with the UAW.

Edmunds says

The tentative agreement between the UAW and Ford will see production resume across all Ford operations, and likely soon enough that vehicle inventories across the country won't be significantly affected. As for GM and Stellantis, production is still halted in a number of facilities for both, and the UAW could escalate work stoppages if an agreement isn’t reached soon.

Chase Bierenkovenby

Chase Bierenkoven has been writing about cars in his head since he was a child. Now, he does it for real, covering automotive news and producing reviews for outlets like Edmunds, Forbes Wheels and CarBuzz. Chase's career as an automotive journalist began in 2020, and he has already written scores of road tests. Some favorites of Chase's include the Dodge Challenger 392, Mazda Miata, Kia EV6 and Bentley Bentayga. Outside his work with cars, Chase is often found justifying his latest broken German sports car to anyone that will listen or enjoying the outdoor spaces of his native Colorado.

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