Oct. 25 (UPI) — After 40 days on strike, the United Auto Workers said Wednesday night that it has reached a tentative deal with Ford and will be sending its members back to Ford plants as it continues to ply pressure on Stellantis and General Motors.
Both the UAW and Ford confirmed the tentative deal has been reached, with the union calling it an “historic agreement.”
“Today, we reached a tentative agreement with Ford. For months, we said record profits mean record contracts and UAW family, our Stand Up Strike has delivered,” UAW President Shawn Fain announced in a 10-minute video on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
President Joe Biden applauded the agreement Wednesday night, calling it a “record raise for auto workers.”
“I applaud the UAW and Ford for coming together after a hard fought, good faith negotiation and reaching a historic tentative agreement tonight,” the president said in a statement. “This tentative agreement provides a record raise to auto workers who have sacrificed so much to ensure our iconic Big Three companies can still lead the world in quality and innovation.”
Though yet to be publicly released, UAW officials said the agreement includes a 25% general wage increase over its lifespan.
Under the agreement, the top-wage rate will increase by more than 30% to $40 an hour and the starting-wage rate will jump by 68% to $28 an hour. Upon ratification, Ford workers will receive an immediate 11% wage increase.
“UAW members at Ford will receive more in straight general wage increases over the next four-and-a-half years than we have over the last 22 years combined,” UAW Vice President Chuck Browning said.
Ford, in a statement late Wednesday, said it was “pleased” a new deal had been struck, and that its 20,000 Ford employees were being called back to assembly lines as it works on restarting its Kentucky Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant and Chicago Assembly Plant.
The tentative deal needs approval by local UAW leaders, who will descend upon Detroit to vote on the agreement Sunday. If approved, the decision to ratify the agreement will fall to its members.
Browning said workers on strike are being called back to work in a move he called “strategic” to put pressure on Stellaris and GM, the other two automakers it has been negotiating with since workers’ contracts at the Big Three expired Sept. 14.
“The last thing they want is for Ford to get back to full capacity while they mess around and lag behind,” he said.
The agreement on Wednesday comes after UAW expanded its strike to target Stellantis and GM’s largest and most profitable plants on Monday and Tuesday.
“What started at three plants at midnight on Sept. 15, has become a national movement,” Fain said. “We knew we were getting close, but we also knew the companies needed a major push if we were going to make sure we got every penny possible in this agreement.”