The second domino in the negotiations between the United Auto Workers and Detroit’s Big Three automakers fell Saturday.
Just days after announcing it had reached a tentative deal with Ford Motor Co., the UAW said it had settled another contract, coming to an agreement with Stellantis.
After some six weeks of strikes, the two sides announced the agreement on Saturday.
Like the tentative pact with Ford, the Stellantis deal still has to be approved by local union leaders and ratified by members. According to multiple reports, the new deal with Stellantis is patterned off the four-and-a-half-year contract reached with Ford on Wednesday.
According to a report by CNBC, UAW President Shawn Fain spent time with negotiators from Stellantis in intense talks Thursday and Friday. The UAW held a meeting early Saturday afternoon with local Stellantis union leaders following the sides agreeing in principle to the terms of a deal.
“Once again, we have achieved what just weeks ago we were told was impossible,” Fain said in a statement. “At Stellantis in particular, we have not only secured a record contract, we have begun to turn the tide in the war on the American working class.
Bloomberg News first reported Saturday the company made additional concessions to the UAW and the union aims to announce a tentative agreement this afternoon that includes a new product for an idled assembly plant in Illinois.
“Through the power of our Stand Up Strike, we have saved Belvidere,” said UAW Vice President Rich Boyer. “Eight months ago, Stellantis idled Belvidere Assembly Plant, putting 1,200 of our members on the street. From the strength of our strike, we are bringing back those jobs and more.” He added that Stellantis is reopening the plant and the company will also add more than a thousand jobs at a new battery plant in Belvidere.
President Joe Biden lauded the agreement in a statement issued shortly after it was announced.
“I want to applaud the UAW and Stellantis for agreeing to immediately bring back all of the Stellantis workers who have been walking the picket line on behalf of their UAW brothers and sisters,” President Joe Biden said in a statement following the contract announcement. The new pact with Ford deal included 25% pay increases over the term of the agreement, including an initial 11% hike. The raises and benefits cumulatively raise the top wage to more than $40 an hour, including an increase of 68% for starting wages to over $28 an hour, according to CNBC.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement “applauding the world-class autoworkers of the UAW and Stellantis.
“This agreement will raise wages for workers and shore up the company’s footprint in Michigan,” Whitmer said. “As governor, I am focused on building on our century-long leadership in auto manufacturing, and with this strong agreement, I know we will define the next century, too.
“Together, we can keep competing with everyone to bring good-paying, family-sustaining jobs back home to Michigan from overseas,” she added. “Let’s build on our momentum and ratify these agreements so Michiganders can get back to doing what they do best—making the world’s best cars and trucks.”
