UAW Members Ratify Historic Contracts at Ford, GM and Stellantis

After the historic Stand Up Strike, UAW members at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis have voted to ratify their new contracts, locking in record gains at the Big Three automakers. Across the three companies, 64% of voting members voted in favor of the agreements. 

“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. “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 150,000 UAW autoworkers at the Big Three have won back major provisions that were sacrificed during the Great Recession, from cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), to annual bonuses for retirees, to the elimination of wage tiers.  

The agreements include substantial wage increases for all Big Three members, life-changing raises for tens of thousands of members, and tens of billions of dollars in product and investment commitments from the companies. After decades of deindustrialization and working-class decline, the new contracts pave the way for a future of reindustrialization and working-class power. Contract provisions include: 

- Raises from at Least 33% to Over 160% – Over the life of the agreement, members will see raises of at least 33%, after COLA and compounded wage increases, ranging up to over 160% for some of the lowest-paid workers. Tens of thousands of autoworkers will see immediate raises of over 40% upon ratification.

- Faster Progression to Top Pay – At all three companies, the union won a three-year wage progression to the top pay rate, down from eight years. This restores the progression in place before the 2011 contract.

- Reopening Belvidere, Reinvesting in America – Stellantis agreed to reopen an assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., it shuttered in February and committed to build a $3.2 billion battery plant there employing more than a thousand union workers. The company was slated to shed more than 5,000 U.S. hourly jobs when bargaining began. It is now on track to add more than 5,000.

- Blazing the Path to a Just EV Transition – The UAW won commitments at all three automakers that will bring thousands of electric vehicle (EV) and battery jobs under the union’s national agreements.

- Improvements in Retirement Security for All Active and Retired Members – Current retirees will receive annual bonuses for the first time in 15 years, a $1.25 billion boost in their benefits. That is a billion dollars more than the union won for retirees in the last four contracts combined. At all three companies, workers hired before 2007 won an increase to their pension multiplier for the first time in over 15 years. Though the union did not win back defined benefit pensions for post-2007 hires, the employer contribution to their 401(k)s is massively boosted to 10%, which will more than double many members’ annual 401(k) contributions over the life of the contract.

All six agreements – hourly and salaried units at each of the three automakers – were ratified by the membership. The results and relevant materials for the Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis contracts can be found at UAW.org.  

# # #

JF/JM:ak:opeiu494afl-cio