I’ve been covering the auto industry since 1989, first as CNN Detroit Bureau Chief, then as the National Auto Writer for the Associated Press, General Motors beat writer at the Detroit News and video reporter at Automotive News.
The tentative contracts haven't yet been ratified by UAW workers at the Detroit Three automakers but in live webcast Wednesday, union president Shawn Fain took a victory lap defended the deals and laid the gauntlet for the next round of contract talks in 2028.
In a roughly 35-minute monologue, Fain ran down the list of gains won after more than five weeks of cascading “stand up strike” walkouts from General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis noting the automakers' first offer was a 9% pay hike, but the union bargained them up to 25%. Fain revealed the automakers put forth more than 30 different contracts before the two sides reached tentative agreements.
Aside from economic gains, “we won back our dignity as auto workers,” Fain said. “We won back our pride in the UAW and being able to wear this label on our chest. We won back our strike muscle and we won back a vision to lead our labor movement out of 40 years in the desert towards an economy that works for the working class.”
Beyond running the laundry list of gains won by the union in these talks, Fain said he's alreadly laying the groundwork for the next round when, if ratified, these deals will expire on April 30, 2028. Calling the new contracts “just a start” Fain has his eyes squarely on workers at automakers in the U.S. at companies from Japan and South Korea—workers the UAW has repeatedly failed to organize.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
UAW suicide pact with Detroit Three will mean higher costs, lower profits, overseas manufacturingThe smashmouth victory of the United Auto Workers over GM, Ford and Stellantis conjures up two Wall Street cliches: 'Don't confuse brains with a bull market,' and 'pigs get fed, hogs get slaughtered.'
Read more »
‘Eat the Rich’: How U.A.W. President Shawn Fain Set Off a Merch BonanzaThe United Auto Workers union said it reached a tentative deal with General Motors on Monday, more than six weeks after workers went on strike. The company is the last of the three Detroit automakers to reach a new tentative labor deal.
Read more »
UAW president defies skeptics (including Trump) to negotiate historic deal for union workersThis is additional taxonomy that helps us with analytics
Read more »
Biden to meet with UAW president, tout Stellantis plant reopeningPresident Joe Biden on Thursday will meet with United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and tout the decision of Chrysler-parent Stellantis to reopen a shuttered assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, a White House official said.
Read more »
Biden to meet UAW president again with strike heading to rear-viewThe UAW also has tentative deals with General Motors and Ford.
Read more »