(WXYZ) — The United Auto Workers union has reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Company on day 40 of the strike against the Big Three, UAW President Shawn Fain said in an update on Wednesday night.
That agreement will still have to be ratified by the more than 57,000 UAW workers who work for Ford.
Reports say the deal would include wage increases of at least 25% over the life of the contract, and other reports say the deal includes an 11% increase in the first year.
"Today, we reached a tentative agreement with Ford. For months, we have said that record profits mean record contracts, and UAW family, our Stand Up Strike has delivered," Fain said in the announcement.
“We have won the most lucrative agreement, per member, since Walter Reuther was a president,” UAW Vice President Chuck Browning said.
Ford CEO Jim Farley released this statement after the tentative agreement was reached.
"We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with the UAW covering our U.S. operations.
Ford is proud to assemble the most vehicles in America and employ the most hourly autoworkers. We are focused on restarting Kentucky Truck Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant,and Chicago Assembly Plant, calling 20,000 Ford employees back to work and shipping our full lineup to our customers again.
The agreement is subject to ratification by Ford’s UAW-represented employees. Consistent with the ratification process, the UAW will share details with its membership."
According to the UAW, the agreement includes a 25% wage increase over the life of the agreement and an 11% raise at the ratification of the contract.
They also restored the pre-2009 cost-of-living adjustment that they say will get the top wage earners to increase by over 30% to more than $40 per hour, and the starting wage rate will increase about 68%.
The UAW also said temp workers will get 150% raises over the life of the contract, they won back a three-year. wage progression, killed wage tiers and won the right to strike over plant closures.
Next, the UAW said the National Council will be coming to Detroit to vote on whether or not to send the tentative agreement to the membership. Those leaders will be here on Sunday, and if the council votes to approve it, there will be information Sunday night to highlight the agreement publicly to membership.
Then, there will be meetings to walk through the TA with local leaders, and finally, the UAW membership will hold ratification votes.
Will Ford workers go back to work?
The UAW called on all striking Ford workers to go back to work while they vote on the tentative agreement. They said it's a strategic move to keep the pressure on General Motors and Stellantis.
"The last thing they want is for Ford to get back to full capacity while they mess around and lag behind," Browning said.
What's happened since the strike?
The initial deadline for a new contract was 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 14. After the contract expired, workers walked out at three plants: GM Wentzville Assembly in Missouri, Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Ohio, and the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant, final assembly and paint only.
Since the strike announcement, the Stand Up Strike has expanded to 45,000 UAW workers across the country at some of the Big Three’s largest and most profitable plants.
Fain also said he would stop waiting until Fridays to announce new plant strikes, which came to fruition when he announced a strike at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant first, then back-to-back announcements of strikes at the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly on Oct. 23 and GM’s Arlington Assembly on Oct. 24.
Throughout the negotiation process, UAW President Shawn Fain has called for the union to stand together, and the automakers have proposed offers that they say stretch their limits.
As of the last UAW update on Oct. 20, the automakers were proposing 23% pay increases, but Fain said there were still more to go on some issues including cost-of-living adjustments, retiree wages, tiers and more.
When the UAW announced plans for negotiations, the union said itAW wanted double-digit pay increases, the end of the tiered wage system, better healthcare, a 32-hour work week and more.
A deal has not yet been reached with General Motors and Stellantis.
The UAW had well over $800 million in the strike fund at the beginning of the strike, and many workers we spoke with during negotiations said they were willing to fight for what they wanted.
The UAW also went on strike against GM in 2019 after failing to reach a tentative contract agreement. That strike lasted from Sept. 15 through Oct. 25 after an agreement was reached on Oct. 16 but ratified nine days later.
“I want to congratulate the UAW and Ford for reaching a historic deal that benefits our world-class autoworkers and helps this world-class automaker succeed. This agreement will put more money into the pockets of hardworking Michiganders while ensuring the company can continue to grow and invest right here in Michigan," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.
