Washington “We have made history,” celebrated Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, after announcing the beginning of an agreement with Ford that includes a substantial improvement in wage conditions for thousands of workers and will serve to end a six-week strike. The new collective agreement, which has yet to be ratified by union leaders, will mean a 25% increase in workers’ pay over four and a half years, with an initial increase of 11%.
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The deal affects workers at only one of Detroit’s three auto giants, which for the first time in history have experienced a simultaneous strike, but gives the union strength to ask for similar terms in its negotiations with General Motors and Stellantis Workers at both companies are on strike while union representatives continue to meet and are expected to reach a comparable deal.
In addition to the wage increase, which will affect Ford’s 57,000 unionized workers, the deal also includes cost-of-living wage upgrades, a clause the UAW waived in 2008 due to the crisis of the sector. And, according to the union, the lowest paid workers will see an increase of more than 150% during the term of the agreement. In addition, it includes restrictions on temporary employment, recognizes the right of workers to strike in protest against the closing of factories and incorporates two weeks of paternity leave.
“For months we’ve said that record profits mean record contracts,” Fain recalled in a video posted on social media: “What started on three floors at midnight on September 15 has become a national movement. We’ve achieved things no one thought possible. Together we are changing the plight of the working class in this country.”
The engine strike, which is understood in the context of the union wave that is impacting several industries in the US, has managed in six weeks to win public opinion and even the support of President Joe Biden, who he even joined a picket line in Detroit. The strategy used has also been key to its success: in order to gradually increase the pressure on the three automotive giants, the stoppage began in some strategic plants and has gradually expanded, so that 45,000 of the 146,000 workers represented by the union ended up going on strike.
2023-10-26 18:21:46
#UAW #union #reaches #agreement #Ford
