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| Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union are seen protesting at the General Motors (GM) Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan on September 29. 2023.09.29/News1 ⓒ AFP=News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Kim Min-su |
(Seoul=News1) Reporter Kim Sung-sik = Following GM, the labor unions of Ford and Stellantis also finally approved a proposal centered on wage increases on the 18th (local time), marking the end of the simultaneous strike launched for the first time by the three major U.S. automakers.
According to U.S. ABC broadcasting, the Stellantis union announced that the labor-management agreement was approved with 68.8% in favor after counting the votes for and against the agreement that afternoon. Stellantis is the fourth-largest global automaker, owning brands such as Chrysler, Jeep, Fiat, and Citroën.
On the same day, the Ford union also passed the agreement with 69.3% in favor. The gap between the pros and cons of the Stellantis and Ford unions was tallied at approximately 10,000 and 15,000 votes, respectively. The GM union was the first of the three companies to approve the agreement with a 55% approval rate on the 16th.
The UAW, a cross-industry union, had been demanding a wage increase this summer, pointing out the record profits in the U.S. auto industry. When the industry did not accept this, they simultaneously stopped one automobile assembly plant each in the U.S. for the three companies on September 15, and then expanded the strike to parts factories, increasing the level of pressure on the companies.
It was the first time in U.S. union history that all three companies went on strike at the same time. In response, U.S. President Joe Biden, who is running for re-election next year, also participated in the strike protest for the first time as a sitting president last September. He visited the protest site and bolstered the union, saying, “You all deserve a substantial wage increase and other benefits that you want.”
Eventually, after six weeks of strikes, the UAW reached a provisional agreement on a new labor contract with Ford, Stellantis, and GM from the 25th to the 30th of last month. The agreement includes a plan to increase base pay by 25% over four years, adjust the cost of living that serves as an index for wage calculation, and expand welfare benefits. In addition, the UAW and the three companies have made a principled agreement to use existing auto industry workers in the construction of new electric car battery factories.
As a result of the negotiation settlement, foreign automakers in the U.S. without unions, such as Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda, also announced plans to increase wages by 9~14% for production workers in North American factories next year. In relation to this, automotive market analysis company Cox Automotives predicted that the burden of corporate costs will increase due to the slowdown in the U.S. new car market due to high interest rates and a significant increase in the price of existing new cars, and that U.S. new car sales will stagnate next year.
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| U.S. President Joe Biden is seen speaking with a megaphone at a United Auto Workers (UAW) rally held in front of the General Motors (GM) Willow Run Logistics Center in Belleville, Michigan, on September 26 (local time). 2023.9.27. ⓒ AFP=News1 ⓒ News1 Reporter Kim Ki-sung |
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