NEW YORK: The United States autoworkers union has announced a tentative deal with Ford, a breakthrough in a 41-day strike on Detroit’s “Big Three” vehicles manufacturers, the Western media reported on Wednesday. The agreement, which rank-and-file autoworkers must still pass in a vote, includes a 25 percent pay increase for hourly staff, the United Auto Workers union said.
US Autoworkers Union Announces Agreement with Ford: Report
Other key matters include guaranteed cost-of-living adjustments; an eradication of different pay levels that disadvantage low level staff; and a right to protest over manufacturer plant closures.
Ford also confirmed the deal, adding “we are pleased to have reached an agreement on a new labor contract with the workers.
The pay increase is somewhat lower than the forty percent sought by UAW head Shawn Fain when the UAW launched the protest on September 15 in the first ever simultaneous strike of Detroit’s Big Three (General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis).
However, it is much above the 9 percent increase Ford primarily suggested in August. “This deal sets us on a new pathway to make things right at Ford and in the industry,” Fain said, while emphasizing that the final pronouncement rests with members.
