A growing number of rank-and-file autoworkers are voting against the deals with Ford and General Motors, despite pay increases that could come to 30% or more during the life of the contract.
The latest setbacks for the deals came in votes at two GM plants, a truck factory in Flint, Michigan, a city known as the birthplace of the union and a Spring Hill, Tennessee plant that builds SUVs for Cadillac and GMC, which both voted no, and by Ford workers in Louisville, Kentucky, home to the company’s largest and most lucrative factories
The Spring Hill plant is the most recent to report results, and it had the greatest level of opposition to the deal. Only 32% of 2,300 members who participated in the ratification vote supported the deal.
At the Flint Truck plant, 52% of the 3,400 members voted against the deal. The votes took the overall GM vote down to only 52% voting to ratify so far.
The Ford vote in Kentucky showed 55% of the members at the Kentucky Truck plant voting against the deal. That plant went on strike with little notice on October 12, about three weeks into the strike that targeted specific plants at the company. Members at Ford’s nearby Louisville Assembly plant who belong to the same union local voted 53% in favor of the deal. The Kentucky local voted against a 2019 contract at Ford by an even larger margin and that contract passed despite its opposition.
While the ratification vote at both companies still has the support of the majority of members, neither vote is large enough at this point to assure passage, especially with some large union locals yet to weigh in.
A vote tracker on the UAW site shows that 65% of members at Ford who have voted so far approve of the deal. But that’s down from the more than 70% who had voted yes heading into the weekend.
A “no” vote at either company could lead to a resumption of the strike, perhaps with little notice. But it wouldn’t be unique, as there have been several instances in which the rank-and-file have voted against deals negotiated by their union and endorsed by its leadership.
The UAW members at Mack Truck voted down a tentative agreement with that heavy truck maker on October 8, and have been on strike ever since, although they are in the process of voting on a slightly different version of that rejected deal once again.
Spokespeople for both GM and Ford declined to comment on the ratification votes so far.
UAW President Shawn Fain has told members repeatedly that these are record contracts and wins for the members, and that the union negotiators won every last dime the companies had to offer. But he also has said the final decision on what to do is up to the rank-and-file.
While the deals give an immediate 11% pay raise to members, guaranteed wage increases totaling another 14% over the next four years and a cost-of-living adjustment that could bring wages up to more than 30% when combined with the guaranteed wages, it did not meet all of the union’s negotiating demands at the start of talks.
The union began demanding an immediate 20% raise and raises totaling 40% during the life of the contract. And it wanted a return of traditional pension plans for workers hired after 2007, who have only a 401(K) plan for their retirement, and health care coverage for retirees and their families.
LANSING, MICHIGAN - SEPTEMBER 29: United Auto Workers members strike the General Motors Lansing Delta Assembly Plant on September 29, 2023 in Lansing, Michigan. Today the UAW expanded their strike against General Motors and Ford, claiming there has not been substantial progress toward a fair contract agreement. Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) Bill Pugliano/Getty Images/FILEWhen Fain and other union officials were spelling out the deals reached with the three companies on Facebook Live, comments that appeared on the feed showed many members urging other members to vote no on the deals.
Some members voicing complaints online argued that the deal didn’t do enough to help the more senior employees who had been with the companies since before 2007. Others complained about the lack of health care coverage for retirees, especially since many members retire from production jobs before they’re eligible for Medicare. And some just urged members to vote no without giving a reason.
Results are due in at other Ford locals by the the end of the this week, including the large local that represents numerous plants in the same complex in Dearborn Michigan. The votes at GM and Stellantis are likely to stretch into next week.
So far the vote at Stellantis has overwhelming support, with 82% of the members who have voted supporting the deal. So far, the only unit of the union at Stellantis to vote no is the one that represents about 300 workers at a parts distribution center in Marysville, Michigan, about an hour north of Detroit.
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