United Auto Workers members ratify contracts with Ford, GM and Stellantis

United Auto Workers members have ratified contracts with Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis.

Across the three companies, 64% of voting members voted in favor of the agreements, according to a post on UAW International's Facebook page.

“The members have spoken. After years of cutbacks, months of our Stand Up campaign and weeks on the picket line, we have turned the tide for the American autoworker,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in the post. “The Stand Up Strike was just the beginning. The UAW is back to setting the standard. Now, we take our strike muscle and our fighting spirit to the rest of the industries we represent, and to millions of nonunion workers ready to Stand Up and fight for a better way of life.”

The votes followed a 41-day strike at multiple plants at all three automakers.

According to the post, UAW represents 150,000 autoworkers at the big three automakers. UAW says through the strikes at all three companies, workers won back major provisions that were sacrificed during the Great Recession, from cost-of-living adjustments, to annual bonuses for retirees, to the elimination of wage tiers.

Locally, this was of interest as Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) operates two plants in the area — the Kentucky Truck Plant and the Louisville Assembly Plant. Kentucky Truck Plant workers went on strike for two weeks.

The Ford deal includes 25% wage increases over its four-year span, including an 11% increase and a $5,000 bonus upon ratification of the agreement, according to a UAW report. Production workers at full rate will see $68,200 in economic gains during the deal, while skilled trade workers will see $91,700 in economic gains during the four-year agreement.

As we reported last week, not all Louisville Ford employees were satisfied with their new labor deal. The two Louisville facilities were split, with 54.5% of Kentucky Truck Plant union members voting against the labor deal and 52.8% of Louisville Assembly Plant union members voting in favor of it.

For its part, Ford is glad to turn the page.

"We are pleased the agreement has been ratified and we are very happy for our more than 57,000 UAW-represented employees and their families. Ford President and CEO Jim Farley said in a statement. "Ford believes in rewarding all of our people and growing the middle class in America — and we have shown that with our actions over many years."

"Now, we are getting back to work as one Ford team. Thankfully, we are on track to reach full production schedules in the coming days at our assembly plants in Michigan, Kentucky and Illinois that were affected during the strike. I’m excited to personally get out to as many of our plants and operations as possible in the coming weeks and months to spend time with our teams who build our vehicles."

Farley added that the agreement adds significant costs for the company and that it will work on productivity and efficiency to become more competitive.

"It’s also imperative that we continue to attack cost and waste throughout our operations," Farley said.