Stand Up Strikers at First Ford Local to Walk Out Vote Overwhelmingly to Ratify New Contract

Wayne, MI – Members of UAW Local 900 at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant voted by 82% to ratify the union’s new contract with Ford. Local 900 helped launch the Stand Up Strike on Sept. 15, and was the first Ford local to strike in decades.

Local 900 members walked the picket line for 41 days before reaching a tentative agreement with Ford, the first of the Big Three automakers to reach a deal with the UAW. The union has suspended the Stand Up Strike while the ratification process goes forward.

The ratification vote totals at Local 900 were 3,087 for the agreement and 683 against. More Ford locals will be voting on the agreement in the coming days, and the results will be posted at the union’s Ratification Vote Tracker at uaw.org/ford2023.

Soon after the deal with Ford, the union also reached tentative agreements with Stellantis and General Motors. The UAW Stellantis National Council is meeting today in Detroit to review their agreement. The UAW GM Council is meeting in Detroit tomorrow to go over that deal. After each meeting, the union will make a presentation to members on Facebook detailing the highlights of each contract.

The gains in the deal at Ford are valued at more than four times the gains from the union’s 2019 contract. The new agreement provides more in base wage increases than Ford workers have received in the past 22 years. The lowest-paid workers at Ford will see a raise of more than 150% over the life of the agreement, with some workers receiving an immediate 85% increase upon ratification.

The agreement reinstates major benefits lost during the Great Recession, including Cost-of-Living Allowances (COLA) and a three-year Wage Progression, as well as killing divisive wage tiers in the union. It improves retirement for current retirees, those workers with pensions, and those who have 401(k) plans. It also includes a historic right to strike over plant closures, a first for the union.

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