US GM Labor-Management Tentative Agreement Passed... Ford and Stellantis Expected to Follow

General Motors (GM), one of the Big Three U.S. automakers that carried out an unprecedented simultaneous strike, has finally approved a tentative labor-management agreement that includes a 25% wage increase over the next four years.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 16th (local time), citing the United Auto Workers (UAW), that 54.7% of the 36,000 GM union members who participated in the vote expressed support for the agreement.

The agreement includes a 25% general wage increase, cost-of-living adjustments based on inflation, and the allowance of strike rights. Earlier, after about six weeks of strikes, the industrial union UAW reached a tentative agreement with GM management on these terms on the 30th of last month.

During the voting process, a large number of opposing votes emerged from some of GM’s major plants, raising concerns about the possibility of a re-strike; however, WSJ reported that the ratification process was completed by a narrow margin.

Ford and Stellantis, which also participated in the simultaneous strike alongside GM, are currently conducting their own approval votes. Local media have reported that approval news from Ford and Stellantis is expected soon.

Earlier, starting from September 15, the UAW initiated simultaneous strikes at some GM, Ford, and Stellantis plants demanding wage increases, and by the end of last month, all three companies sequentially reached labor-management agreements.