HAMTRAMCK, Mich. (WXYZ) — General Motors has enough votes to ratify the contract, according to the union's official ratification vote tracker.
It shows close to 55 percent of workers voted 'yes'. The other 45 percent voted against the contract. The voting deadline ended at 4 p.m. An official announcement from UAW president Shawn Fain on GM's ratification vote is expected tomorrow.
This is news the majority of autoworkers at GM's Factory Zero in Hamtramck had hoped for.
Korey Benson said, "All in all we got a good deal. We live to fight another day."
He said he's fortunate he did not have to strike like his fellow UAW members at other plants and facilities.
"Ya know, that's a hardship. So, people got bills and stuff to pay. It's best they get back to work," Benson said.
He's among the UAW members at Hamtramck's Factory Zero who voted 'yes' to ratify the contract and said he never had a doubt it would pass. That's despite the close margin in recent days.
Yesterday, 7 Action News learned that close margin likely existed because of pushback from workers with seniority who feel shortchanged in the contract and unprotected once they retire.
Benson, who's worked for the company for 17 years said, "Sometimes you just got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em. I mean, it's the best deal they can get at the time. I'm sure things will get better. You can always find something bad in the details, right? That's in any deal. That's why they call it negotiation. Everything can't be what you want, right?"
Auto expert Paul Eisenstein is Editor of Headlight.news.
He explained, "We also heard opposition from retirees who felt that they may have been left out of the agreement, and they really didn't get included with some additional benefits that many had hoped existing retirees would get."
Eisenstein said now that GM cleared a hurdle with the UAW, the bar is a bit lower for Ford and Stellantis. Workers at those companies are showing approval for their respective contracts. So far, right around 65 and 66 percent are in favor.
"GM was likely to be the one that could see workers reject the contract. Now, we have to wait for final word, but at this point with GM workers giving it a go, ratifying the contract, I expect we'll see the same thing happen both at Ford and Stellantis," Eisenstein explained.
