TOM KRISHER
Updated Thu, November 2, 2023
DETROIT (AP) — Autoworkers at the first Ford factory to go on strike have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a tentative contract agreement reached with the company.
Members of Local 900 at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, west of Detroit voted 81% in favor of the four year-and-eight month deal, according to Facebook postings by local members on Thursday.
Two union officials confirmed the accuracy of the percentage Thursday. Neither wanted to be identified because the vote totals had not been made public.
About 3,300 United Auto Workers union members went on strike at the plant Sept. 15 after the union's contract with Ford expired. They remained on the picket lines until Oct. 25, when the union announced the tentative deal with Ford.
Production workers voted 81% to ratify the deal, while skilled trades workers voted 90% in favor. Voting at Ford will continue through Nov. 17.
Local union leaders from across the country at Jeep maker Stellantis voted unanimously on Thursday to send the contract to members for a vote. General Motors local leaders will meet on Friday. Dates for member voting at GM or Stellantis were not yet clear.
Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who follows labor issues, said the vote at the Ford factory is a positive sign for the union.
“These workers are deeply in the know about the overall situation,” he said. “I think that they responded to it with such high levels of approval it is perhaps reflective of how the broader workforce represented by the UAW feels about this contract.”
Masters says union officials still have to make their cases to the membership, but “certainly this would appear to be a harbinger of good news.”
The deals with all three companies are generally the same, although there are some differences. All give workers 25% general pay raises with 11% upon ratification. With cost of living pay, the raises will exceed 30% by the time the contracts end on April 30, 2028. Workers hired after 2009 without defined benefit pensions will get 10% annual company contributions, and they'll get $5,000 ratification bonuses.
Workers began their strikes with targeted walkouts at all three automakers that escalated during a six-week period in an effort to pressure the companies into a deal. GM was the last company to settle early Sunday morning.
At its peak 46,000 union members had gone on strike at eight assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses across the nation. The union has about 146,000 members at all three of the Detroit auto companies.
A "UAW On Strike" sign held on a picket line outside the General Motors Co. Spring Hill Manufacturing plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, on Oct. 30, 2023.
What's next in UAW ratification process after Big 3 reach deals with union
Amber Ainsworth
Thu, November 2, 2023
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Big Three automakers are inching closer to having new contract agreements with the UAW implemented.
Ford was the first to reach a tentative deal with the union, followed by Stellantis and General Motors. The deals from GM, Ford, and Stellantis all nearly mirror one another.
Read more about the deals:
Ford deal
Stellantis deal
GM deal
As the automakers reached tentative deals, the union suspended its strikes and pulled workers off the picket lines while the deals go through a process to get them approved.
That process includes being reviewed by a UAW National Council that votes to send the agreement to the membership. Once the council votes, members attend informational sessions to learn about the agreements before voting to ratify them.
UAW members who work at Ford are preparing to vote on their deal after the UAW National Ford Council voted to send it to the membership.
The UAW National Stellantis Council will meet in Detroit on Thursday to vote on that deal, while the UAW National GM Council will do the same Friday.
If the councils vote to send the deals to members, union leadership will hold a Facebook Live that same evening to go over the highlights of the contracts.
If union members do not approve the contracts, the strike will continue as automakers and the UAW head back to the bargaining table.
The Big Three are paying a big price to end the UAW strike — but that won’t necessarily jack up car prices
Analysis by Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN
Thu, November 2, 2023
The historic United Auto Workers union strike against the nation’s three unionized automakers — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, known as the “Big Three” — could finally be over soon.
This news comes after all three automakers reached tentative deals with the union.
Ford was the first to announce it reached a tentative agreement with the UAW on Wednesday. Then came Stellantis over the weekend and GM today.
A brief refresher
The strike, which began nearly seven weeks ago, has been the longest US auto strike in 25 years. It was the first time in its history that the UAW staged a simultaneous strike against the nation’s three unionized automakers
The strike began at one assembly plant at each company, but the UAW expanded the scope of the strike six times since then in an effort to step up pressure on the companies at the bargaining table.
The production losses have likely cost the automakers billions of dollars. But the damage it’s done to the broader economy carries an even heftier price tag.
The first five weeks of the strike has had an economic impact of $9.3 billion, the Anderson Economic Group estimated.
Their estimate takes into account:
Lost wages for striking workers and other workers who were laid off or forced to work fewer hours
Lost earnings for the Big Three automakers
Supplier losses including delays and cancellations for car parts orders and the wage impact it’s had on workers within the industry
Dealer and customer losses as a result of indefinite delays of new vehicles
The final straw
The linchpin in negotiations between the UAW and Ford came on October 11, when the union struck Ford’s largest and most profitable plant, my colleague, Vanessa Yurkevich, reported.
Similarly, the UAW’s hardest hits against Stellantis and GM came shortly before both announced tentative deals.
What will this mean for car prices?
Now you’d think people in the market for a new car would pay the price, by way of higher car prices, given all the added costs the Big Three will face if the tentative deals go into effect.
But as my colleague Chris Isidore — CNN’s expert reporter in all things strike-related — tells me, there’s a good chance cars won’t get more expensive because of all this.
Here are a couple of reasons why:
Car prices are based on supply and demand. For instance, when demand was high but supply was constrained by a shortage of computer chips needed to build new cars a few years ago, prices went up to record levels. And at the end of the day, it was the auto dealers, which are independent businesses, that benefitted the most from buying cars at wholesale prices from automakers and selling them to consumers earning massive profits.
The automakers might cut corners somewhere else to maintain their pre-strike prices (think lower quality or less aesthetically appealing interiors, wheels or tires)
The Big Three have to stay competitive with nonunion automakers which keeps their car prices in check
The automakers will need to find ways to build cars more efficiently and figure out how to make money selling electric vehicles
TLDR: The biggest loser is probably going to be the automakers who are going to see their profits decline one way or another.
One last thing — none of this is a done deal
You may have noticed I use the word “tentative” multiple times. That’s because the historic strike doesn’t officially end until it is ratified by rank-and-file members.
And it is possible that members at one or more companies could vote down the tentative deal, leading to a resumption of the strike at that company, CNN’s Yurkevich and Isidore wrote.
UAW strikes end: What it means for Biden, Big Three
Angel Smith and Brad Smith
Wed, November 1, 2023
Autoworkers have concluded a six-week strike, securing tentative agreements with Detroit's Big Three automakers—Ford (F), Stellantis (STLA), and General Motors (GM). The deals encompass increased pay for union workers and involvement in the EV transition.
Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman explores the potential aftermath of the strikes, including what it means for President Biden's reelection, heightened costs for automakers, and the prospect of UAW expanding unionization to non-union plants like Tesla and Volkswagen.
For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
Video Transcript
BRAD SMITH: The picket signs are down for now. The UAW has ended its six-week campaign of coordinated strikes after reaching tentative deals with the three big automakers in Detroit. Among other guarantees, workers will see higher pay and inclusion in the EV transition. But that transition has been costly, for both Ford and GM have recently scaled back investments.
In an effort to make EVs more attractive, car companies led by Tesla have cut prices significantly. The average EV price tag has fallen a staggering 22% from last year, according to Kelley Blue Book. So what do higher labor costs and lower price tags mean for the Detroit three autoworkers? Joining us now, we've got Yahoo Finance's Rick Newman to help us break this down a little bit more. Hey, Rick.
RICK NEWMAN: Hey, guys. A lot of implications from the end of this strike. I think clearly a win for the United Auto Workers and its members. So there are a lot of questions about what happens next. First of all, this went pretty well for President Biden. Remember, he went to-- he went up to Michigan and he walked a picket line and political analysts said, oh, risky move for a president to take sides.
Well, Biden seemed to have taken the right side in this, and that's going to give him some credibility during the election next year, because those-- you know, those states, Michigan and Wisconsin in particular, are swing states, and Biden can go there. And he said, look, I've been on the side of the unionized workers here for the start, from the start, I proved it by coming up when you guys were on strike, and vote for me. He's got a pretty good case there.
Now, we've got three Detroit automakers that are going to face higher costs. Ford estimated that this deal will add about $900 to the cost of producing a car in the United States with unionized labor. That is a lot. $900 on the-- added to the cost of a car-- I mean, automakers work like mad to trim the cost of a part by $0.25. So that actually puts the Detroit automakers at more of a cost disadvantage than they were before.
However, the union thinks they have a pretty good shot at unionizing some of the other automakers that do not currently employ unionized workers. Tesla is a big one out in California and down in Texas. There are many foreign-based automakers that have factories mostly in the South that are not unionized.
The UAW has tried before without success to unionize a couple of those, but there's a new mood in the country about unions. They are more popular than they have been in a long time, and probably some of the workers at those plants are saying to themselves, I would like to get paid what those UAW members in the upper Northwest working for the Detroit three are going to get paid. So there is a lot more to come on this.
- Speaking of that more to come, we've seen just this labor uprising in a variety of industries, Rick, and the UAW said they aim to target non-union auto plants in the US. Like, you know, you've talked about this, companies like Toyota, Volkswagen, and Tesla. What can you tell us about unionization efforts with regard to those and the targeting of those automakers?
RICK NEWMAN: You know, until this year, I mean, it seemed like unions really were just in long term decline, they weren't popular, and they were not likely to get any traction where-- I mean, look at what's been happening with Amazon. You know, workers trying to Amazon at union-- at Amazon places of employment, warehouses, and stuff like that. I mean, some want to do it, but it's not like there's a groundswell of support to do it.
That seems like it could be changing, and, boy, one of the things that could end up being quite dramatic is if there is a unionized-- a serious unionization effort at Tesla. Elon Musk is one of the most anti-union CEOs in America, and you have to wonder, what would Elon Musk do if the UAW tried to unionize his plant?
He is opening a plant, or he plans to open a new plant in Mexico-- and, by the way, this is another possible unintended consequence of when American labor costs go up. A lot of the automakers do have-- do have factories in Mexico where it is way cheaper to build stuff, and it would not be surprising if you saw more auto production going to Mexico. You know, a nearby country that is easy to ship stuff to and from. And could Tesla do that with some of the cars they build in the United States? I mean, we may be talking a couple of years down the road here, but I think some fascinating battles might be coming.
- Yeah, you're right. That would certainly be one to watch if Tesla would ever be unionized. I mean, I agree with you. We certainly know that Elon Musk has been anti-union, so we'll see if that even could take off.
Expert Claims Resolution of UAW Strike Will Strengthen ‘Growth of Electric Vehicles’ — Here’s Why
Yaёl Bizouati-Kennedy
Thu, November 2, 2023
DeeCee Carter / MediaPunch / Shutterstock.com
Following a six-week strike, United Auto Workers (UAW) reached what it calls a “historic tentative agreement with General Motors that paves the way for a just transition and wins record economic gains for autoworkers.” And now, some experts argue that the resolution could also strengthen the growth of electric vehicles. (EVs).
More Bang for Your Buck: Cars That Last Twice as Long as Average Vehicles
Be Aware: 6 Used Cars To Stay Away From
“Like the agreements with Ford and Stellantis, the GM agreement has turned record profits into a record contract. The deal includes gains valued at more than four times the gains from the union’s 2019 contract. It provides more in base wage increases than GM workers have received in the past 22 years,” the UAW said in a statement.
The agreement includes 25% in base wage increases through April 2028, and will cumulatively raise the top wage by 33% compounded with estimated cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) to over $42 an hour, according to the statement. The starting wage will increase by 70% compounded with estimated COLA to over $30 an hour.
In a comment to Newsweek, Cornell University professor and labor expert Harry Katz said of the deals, “I think it’s helped, rather than hindered, the growth of electric vehicles.”
Why Does It Matter for EV Growth?
As Newsweek reported, EVs have been at the center of negotiations during the strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis, the company that makes the Jeep, Ram and Chrysler brands.
More: Avoid 5 Electric Vehicles That Will Likely Break Down After 50,000 Miles
During negotiations, industry executives argued they couldn’t produce EVs at scale and remain competitive while paying higher wages, according to Newsweek. But the dilemma proved to be false when automakers granted the deals, Jason Walsh, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance (a coalition of environmental groups and labor organizations, including the UAW), told Newsweek.
More Costs for EV Makers
Yet, according to Peter C. Earle, economist, American Institute for Economic Research, there are tradeoffs associated with entering wage agreements.
“Yes, the automakers are gaining some increased certainty in their cost structure, but only over the term of the UAW agreement,” said Earle. “And if other aspects of production costs change — for example, higher costs of inputs, such as raw materials — the inflexibility (“stickiness”) of labor costs present a burden to overcome — and quite possibly a factor forcing final prices higher.”
According to him, by agreeing to unionize the workforce at the new EV and battery facilities, another layer of expense has been added to the price of the final product.
“For just like tariffs, regulatory fees, and other such costs, the increased expense of collective bargaining agreements will be borne by the end customer, not by the auto companies,” he said.
EV Makers Have Bigger Issues Than Resolution of Strike and Associated Costs
For Ford, GM, and Stellantis, according to Peter Glenn, founder and co-CEO of EV Life, resolving the strike has a relatively low cost, and more importantly, enables these automakers to get back to addressing two much bigger EV issues: the EV green premium and the lack of reliable public charging.
“One of the developments we’re excited to watch for 2024 is how Ford and GM electric vehicles gaining access to Tesla’s NACS SuperCharger network will improve its sales,” said Glenn.
Glenn added that Tesla’s public charging network is the only reliable charging network in America, so when Ford, GM and other non-Tesla vehicles get access to them in 2024, their EV sales will scale rapidly with consumer confidence in knowing that they can use Tesla’s world class charging network in their Ford or GM vehicles.
“By resolving the labor dispute and scaling manufacturing, Ford and GM can take full advantage of maximizing their EV sales as they gain access to NACS,” he added.
As for the green premium on EVs, Glenn said that it “may be a taller order.”
He noted that according to KBB data, the average price of a non-luxury new car in the U.S. is $45,000. And while the Ford Mach-E, Chevy Bolt and Equinox, and even Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 start from below $45,000, even these EVs still cost $10,000 to $20,000 more than equivalent commuter ICE vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 and Camry.
“With interest rates unlikely to drop significantly until at least late 2024, automakers and consumers should be looking for new and innovative ways to finance EVs that are different from traditional auto loans,” he added.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Expert Claims Resolution of UAW Strike Will Strengthen ‘Growth of Electric Vehicles’ — Here’s Why
Thu, November 2, 2023
DeeCee Carter / MediaPunch / Shutterstock.com
Following a six-week strike, United Auto Workers (UAW) reached what it calls a “historic tentative agreement with General Motors that paves the way for a just transition and wins record economic gains for autoworkers.” And now, some experts argue that the resolution could also strengthen the growth of electric vehicles. (EVs).
More Bang for Your Buck: Cars That Last Twice as Long as Average Vehicles
Be Aware: 6 Used Cars To Stay Away From
“Like the agreements with Ford and Stellantis, the GM agreement has turned record profits into a record contract. The deal includes gains valued at more than four times the gains from the union’s 2019 contract. It provides more in base wage increases than GM workers have received in the past 22 years,” the UAW said in a statement.
The agreement includes 25% in base wage increases through April 2028, and will cumulatively raise the top wage by 33% compounded with estimated cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) to over $42 an hour, according to the statement. The starting wage will increase by 70% compounded with estimated COLA to over $30 an hour.
In a comment to Newsweek, Cornell University professor and labor expert Harry Katz said of the deals, “I think it’s helped, rather than hindered, the growth of electric vehicles.”
Why Does It Matter for EV Growth?
As Newsweek reported, EVs have been at the center of negotiations during the strike against Ford, GM and Stellantis, the company that makes the Jeep, Ram and Chrysler brands.
More: Avoid 5 Electric Vehicles That Will Likely Break Down After 50,000 Miles
During negotiations, industry executives argued they couldn’t produce EVs at scale and remain competitive while paying higher wages, according to Newsweek. But the dilemma proved to be false when automakers granted the deals, Jason Walsh, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance (a coalition of environmental groups and labor organizations, including the UAW), told Newsweek.
More Costs for EV Makers
Yet, according to Peter C. Earle, economist, American Institute for Economic Research, there are tradeoffs associated with entering wage agreements.
“Yes, the automakers are gaining some increased certainty in their cost structure, but only over the term of the UAW agreement,” said Earle. “And if other aspects of production costs change — for example, higher costs of inputs, such as raw materials — the inflexibility (“stickiness”) of labor costs present a burden to overcome — and quite possibly a factor forcing final prices higher.”
According to him, by agreeing to unionize the workforce at the new EV and battery facilities, another layer of expense has been added to the price of the final product.
“For just like tariffs, regulatory fees, and other such costs, the increased expense of collective bargaining agreements will be borne by the end customer, not by the auto companies,” he said.
EV Makers Have Bigger Issues Than Resolution of Strike and Associated Costs
For Ford, GM, and Stellantis, according to Peter Glenn, founder and co-CEO of EV Life, resolving the strike has a relatively low cost, and more importantly, enables these automakers to get back to addressing two much bigger EV issues: the EV green premium and the lack of reliable public charging.
“One of the developments we’re excited to watch for 2024 is how Ford and GM electric vehicles gaining access to Tesla’s NACS SuperCharger network will improve its sales,” said Glenn.
Glenn added that Tesla’s public charging network is the only reliable charging network in America, so when Ford, GM and other non-Tesla vehicles get access to them in 2024, their EV sales will scale rapidly with consumer confidence in knowing that they can use Tesla’s world class charging network in their Ford or GM vehicles.
“By resolving the labor dispute and scaling manufacturing, Ford and GM can take full advantage of maximizing their EV sales as they gain access to NACS,” he added.
As for the green premium on EVs, Glenn said that it “may be a taller order.”
He noted that according to KBB data, the average price of a non-luxury new car in the U.S. is $45,000. And while the Ford Mach-E, Chevy Bolt and Equinox, and even Tesla’s Model Y and Model 3 start from below $45,000, even these EVs still cost $10,000 to $20,000 more than equivalent commuter ICE vehicles like the Toyota RAV4 and Camry.
“With interest rates unlikely to drop significantly until at least late 2024, automakers and consumers should be looking for new and innovative ways to finance EVs that are different from traditional auto loans,” he added.
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Expert Claims Resolution of UAW Strike Will Strengthen ‘Growth of Electric Vehicles’ — Here’s Why
UAW releases Ford factory plans from 2023 tentative deal: Which plants get what products
Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press
Wed, November 1, 2023
As hourly workers at Ford Motor Co. begin this week voting on whether to ratify the tentative agreement, one thing they know for certain is that all plants have been assigned future product.
This is a top priority for autoworkers who don't want to be stuck at a plant with an uncertain future.
In its tentative deal with the UAW, Ford has proposed $8.1 billion in plant investments by the end of the 2023 agreement. Here's where the investments are to go to:
Assembly operations
A Ford logo decorates the grass outside the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2023.
Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois: $400 million to continue building the Ford Explorer, including the hybrid electric and Police Interceptor Utility. Lincoln Aviator will continue through its product life cycle.
Dearborn Truck Plant/Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC): $900 million to continue building the F-150, including hybrid electric and Raptor. The all-electric F-150 Lightning will continue through its product life cycle. An all-new EV truck will be added.
Flat Rock Assembly Plant: $50 million to continue building the Mustang. Pending program approval, new product will be added.
Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri: $1 billion to continue building the F-150, including hybrid electric and Police Interceptor. Transit will continue. The Transit EV will continue through its planned product life cycle.
Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville: $750 million to continue building Super Duty, Expedition including hybrid, and Lincoln Navigator including hybrid electric.
Louisville Assembly in Kentucky: $1.2 billion to continue building the Escape through its planned product life cycle and the Lincoln Corsair through its planned product life cycle. A new EV product will be added.
Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne including Integral Stamping and Assembly and Body Stamping Unit: $250 million to continue building the Ranger and Ranger Raptor, the Bronco and Bronco Raptor. A third production crew will be added. Stamping for the Mustang, Bronco, Bronco Raptor, Ranger, Ranger Raptor, F-150, Expedition, Navigator and Super Duty will continue. Stamping for the Escape and the Corsair will continue through their planned life cycle.
Ohio Assembly Plant in Sheffield: $2.1 billion to continue building Super Duty, F-650 and F-750 pickups, E-Series cutaway and stripped chassis. A new EV van will be added.
Engine operations
Dearborn Engine Plant: $20 million to continue building the Duratec engine and 5.2L SC engine. An all-new EV battery pack is planned.
Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park, Ohio: $100 million to continue making the Duratec and Cyclone engines.
Lima Engine Plant in Ohio: $90 million to continue making Cyclone and Nano engines.
Woodhaven Forging: $3 million to continue the current engine family forgings. A forged steel crankshaft for the 7.3L engine program will be added.
Transmission and driveline
Ford Automatic Transmission plant in Livonia, Saturday, May 4, 2019.
Livonia Transmission: $120 million to continue building 10R transmission, 8FM transmission, and 6R transmission through its planned product life cycle. Current gears will continue.
Sharonville Transmission in Cincinnati, Ohio: $160 million to continue 10R transmission and current gear families. And 6R transmission will continue through its planned product life cycle.
Van Dyke Electric Powertrain Center in Sterling Heights: $230 million to continue current EV power unit, 8F57 transmission, HF55 transmission and 6F and HF45 through their planned life cycles. A new EV power unit will be added.
Rawsonville Components in Ypsilanti: $200 million to continue GEN IV battery and add additional capacity, continue BEV H and BEV G batteries through their planned life cycle, add an all new hybrid battery. AIS, Carbon cannisters, sequencing and 10R oil pump will continue, coil on plug and 6R oil pump will continue through their planned life cycles.
Sterling Axle: $130 million to continue axle production for the F-150, Super Duty, Mustang, Expedition, Navigator, Explorer, Transit. Lincoln Aviator axle production continues through its product life cycle.
Stamping
Buffalo Stamping in New York: $80 million to continue stamping for Super Duty, Expedition, Navigator, E-Series and medium-duty F-Series trucks. Continue stamping Edge, Lincoln Nautilus through their planned product life cycles. Add stamping for an all new EV.
Chicago Stamping: $30 million to continue stamping for Explorer, Transit and Super Duty. Continue stamping for Aviator through its planned life cycle.
Dearborn Stamping: $150 million (shared with plant below) to continue stamping for F-150, Expedition, Navigator, Bronco, Super Duty. Stamping for Lightning will continue through its planned life cycle. Stamping for all new EV at REVC.
Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing: $150 million (shared with plant above) to continue hydroforming for the F-150, Expedition, Navigator, Bronco, Super Duty. Axle, shock, tire front wheel end assembly for F-150. Tire and wheel will continue for Edge through its planned life cycle.
Woodhaven Stamping: $150 million to continue stamping for Explorer, Bronco, Mustang and service parts. Stamping for a new EV will be added. Stampings and hot metal forming for Escape, Corsair and Aviator will continue through their planned life cycle. Stampings and hot metal forming for Explorer will continue.
The UAW also negotiated the right to strike over a plant closing or sale.
Where General Motors stands on product commitments
A UAW spokesman told the Detroit Free Press on Tuesday that the list for GM has not yet been released.
Where Stellantis stands on product commitments
A UAW spokesman told the Free Press that the complete list for Stellantis has not yet been released. The tentative agreement, though, does include the reopening of the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois with a new vehicle and the addition of more than 1,000 jobs at an EV battery facility.
All three automakers await ratification of their proposed UAW contracts. Ford employees start voting this week.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: UAW releases Ford factory plans: Which plants get what products
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