A potential contract agreement between General Motors (GM) and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union seems to be on the brink of failure. While the UAW has not yet released the final vote totals, workers at five major factories have rejected the proposed four-year and eight-month deal by significant margins.
Although the UAW’s website vote tracker indicates that the agreement is winning by 686 votes, this does not include votes from several GM assembly plants that voted against the deal. These plants include those in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Lansing Delta Township and Lansing Grand River in Michigan; and a powertrain plant in Toledo, Ohio. Local union officials report that in most cases, the majority of workers at these plants voted against the contract, with tallies ranging from 55% to around 60%.
While awaiting the final vote totals from a large assembly plant in Arlington, Texas, many workers anticipate the contract will be rejected. Requests for comment from the union’s spokesman have not yet been answered.
The next course of action remains uncertain, but local union officials do not anticipate an immediate strike once the final vote results are known. Meanwhile, voting is still in progress at Ford, where the deal is passing with 66.1% voting in favor. The contract is also receiving overwhelming support in early voting at Jeep maker Stellantis, with 79.7% in favor.
One of the main sources of discontent among long-time UAW workers is the lack of substantial pay raises compared to newer hires, as well as a desire for a larger pension increase. Newer workers are seeking a defined benefit pension plan instead of the current 401(K) defined contribution plan.
Tony Totty, president of the UAW local at the Toledo powertrain plant, believes that now is the opportune time to demand more from the company. He states, “We need to take advantage of the moment… Why should we not get the best economic agreement in good economic times?”
Previously, thousands of UAW members engaged in targeted strikes against Detroit automakers for six weeks before reaching tentative agreements late last month. Instead of striking at one company, the union focused on individual plants at all three automakers. At its peak, approximately 46,000 of the union’s 146,000 workers in Detroit were on picket lines.
