Amping up pressure on the bargaining table, the UAW announced new strikes at GM’s Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant on Saturday—just as contract negotiations between union President Shawn Fain and GM CEO Mary Barra were to take place.
GM and the UAW haven’t been able to come to terms with temporary workers, per Bloomberg.
The move by the union comes after the UAW gained tentative deals first with Ford and more recently with Chrysler-owner, Stellantis.
Record deals
Both companies have agreed to give their workers a 25% general pay hike, a raise in starting wages from $18 to $30 per hour, and a top wage of $42 an hour by the end of the four-and-a-half-year contract.
The tentative deals also include cost-of-living allowances. Ford has committed $8.1 billion in investment to its factories over the contract period.
Fain considers it “a turning point in the class war that has been raging in this country for the past 40 years.”
What’s next?
Union leaders will conduct meetings with their members to explain details of the Ford and Stellantis tentative deals, after which workers will vote for ratification.