Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Vote on tentative contract with General Motors too close to call as more tallies are reported


TOM KRISHER
Wed, November 15, 2023 


 United Auto Workers members walk in the Labor Day parade in Detroit, Sept. 2, 2019. The tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union appears to be headed for defeat. The union hasn’t posted final vote totals yet, but workers at five large factories who finished voting in the past few days have turned down the four year and eight month deal by fairly large margins. 
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

DETROIT (AP) — Voting on a tentative contract agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union that ended a six-week strike against the company appears too close to call after the latest tallies at several GM factories were announced Wednesday.

The union hasn't posted final vote totals yet, but workers at five large factories who finished voting in the past few days have turned down the four year and eight month deal by fairly large margins. However a factory in Arlington, Texas, with about 5,000 workers voted more than 60% to approve the deal in tallies announced Wednesday.

The vote tracker on the UAW's website shows the deal winning by 686 votes. But those totals do not include votes from GM assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Lansing Delta Township and Lansing Grand River in Michigan, and a powertrain plant in Toledo, Ohio, which all voted against the agreement, according to local union officials.

In most cases the vote tallies ranged from 55% to around 60% against the contract.

But in Arlington, production workers voted 60.4% in favor and nearly 65% of skilled trades workers approved the deal, making the tally tight.

Spokesmen for both the union and General Motors declined comment while the voting continues.

It wasn't clear what would happen next, but local union officials don't expect an immediate walkout if the contract is voted down.

Voting continues at Ford, where the deal is passing with 66.1% voting in favor so far with only a few large factories still counting.

The contract was passing overwhelmingly in early voting at Jeep maker Stellantis. The union's vote tracker shows that 79.7% voted in favor with many large factories yet to finish.

Local union officials say longtime workers at GM were unhappy that they didn’t get larger pay raises like newer workers, and they wanted a larger pension increase. Newer hires wanted a defined benefit pension plan instead of the 401(K) defined contribution plan that they now receive.

Tony Totty, president of the union local at the Toledo powertrain plant, said the environment is right to seek more from the company. “We need to take advantage of the moment,” he said. “Who knows what the next environment will be for national agreements. The company never has a problem telling us we need to take concessions in bad economic times. Why should we not get the best economic agreement in good economic times?”

Thousands of UAW members joined picket lines in targeted strikes against Detroit automakers over a six-week stretch before tentative deals were reached late last month. Rather than striking at one company, the union targeted individual plants at all three automakers. At its peak last month about 46,000 of the union’s 146,000 workers at the Detroit companies were walking picket lines.

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UAW workers at several GM plants reject tentative contract, imperiling deal

Overall, the deal is still on track for ratification, but by a slim 52% to 48% margin.


Pras Subramanian
·Senior Reporter
Wed, November 15, 2023 

Concern is growing among execs at GM (GM), and likely leadership at the United Auto Workers (UAW) after workers at several GM plants voted to reject the tentative labor deal.

Production workers at GM’s Lansing Delta plant — UAW Local 602 — voted against the tentative deal, with 63% opposing it. However, 60% of skilled trade workers voted for the deal. Overall totals resulted in 61% against and 39% for the deal at the Delta Lansing Plant, which builds the Chevrolet Traverse, Buick Enclave, and GMC Acadia SUVs.

Per the UAW's vote tracker, GM's big Lansing plant joined other plants like Wentzville Assembly, Defiance, Romulus Engine, Bowling Green, Lansing Grand River, Pontiac Stamping, Towanda Engine, and Marion Assembly in rejecting the deal.

News of the Lansing Delta Plant workers' rejection of the deal followed GM’s Spring Hill Assembly vote tally, where UAW members voted against the deal by a 68% to 32% margin. Prior to that, workers at GM’s Flint, Mich., truck assembly plant — which builds GM’s heavy duty pickups and large SUVs — voted by a relatively small 52% to reject the deal as well.


Striking United Auto Workers (UAW) members from the General Motors Lansing Delta Plant picket in Delta Township, Mich., Sept. 29, 2023. (Rebecca Cook/REUTERS) (Rebecca Cook / reuters)

Reports suggest veteran GM UAW members are concerned that newer workers are getting more money and better retirement benefits than older workers. Other workers are unhappy about the lack of a defined pension plan that workers had before the Great Financial Crisis of 2008.

"The situation at GM is more serious as a potential threat to ratification at that company," labor expert Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University's Mike Ilitch School of Business, told Yahoo Finance following rejection of the deal at GM’s Flint Assembly.

Per the UAW's GM vote tracker, the overall deal is still on track for ratification, but by a slim 52% to 48% margin. The UAW's vote tracker does not include the vote tally from Lansing Delta Township, however.
Note that a tentative contract is ratified if a majority of hourly workers (which includes production and skilled trades) who vote opt in favor of the agreement. There is no possibility of a plant-level strike or negotiation, a source told Yahoo Finance.

"If the contract is rejected at one company, the union will have several decisions to make, including whether to call out a strike, how to deal with maintaining pattern agreements, and determining what they should try to get to satisfy rank and file," Masters said.

As for the other members of the Big Three, per the UAW Ford’s (F) union workers have thus far approved the deal by a 66.1% vote, and Stellantis’s (STLA) UAW workers have voted by a 79.7% vote to approve the deal.

Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.


UAW & Detroit 3 Tentative Deal Leads to Mixed Responses

Rimmi Singhi
ZACKS
Wed, November 15, 2023 


After extensive negotiations and a seven-week strike, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached tentative agreements with Detroit 3 automakers — General Motors GM, Ford F and Stellantis STLA. But despite achieving record contracts with the auto biggies, not all UAW members are satisfied. As of the latest updates, the agreements are being voted on by union members, with varying levels of support across different automakers.

While GM and F carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each, STLA has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) currently. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
At three key GM assembly plants, representing 21% of the company's 46,000 employees covered by the UAW, the proposed contract has faced rejection. Specifically, 61% of the workforce at the Lansing Delta Township plant in Michigan, responsible for producing Buick and Chevrolet crossovers, voted against the agreement. In Spring Hill, TN, a plant manufacturing Cadillac and GMC crossovers saw even higher opposition, with 67.5% rejecting the deal. Additionally, GM's Flint, MI, truck plant reported 52% against the agreement. A few smaller GM facilities also recorded votes against the pact.

Ford has seen a similar trend, with more than 54% of members at its Kentucky Truck Plant voting against the agreement. Stellantis, on the other hand, is witnessing stronger support, with approximately 82% of members favoring the contract so far.

The discontent among the union members, especially at General Motors and Ford, stems from various factors. Long-serving employees fear they might not benefit as much as newer ones, especially regarding retirement benefits. There's also skepticism about the contract language and distrust due to past corruption scandals involving former union leaders. Additionally, inflated expectations set by UAW President Shawn Fain regarding significant wage increases and the elimination of employment "tiers" have raised dissatisfaction.

The UAW's tentative agreements have indeed made notable progress, including a 25% wage increase, faster progression to top wages (from eight to three years) and significant new investments, including for battery workers. However, the agreements have fallen short in several areas, such as delivering a 40% general wage increase, which the UAW had called for, and eliminating wage and benefit tiers. The agreements also failed to reduce the workweek to 32 hours and lacked comprehensive post-retirement health care and traditional pensions for all employees.

Nonetheless, the UAW has touted these deals as a substantial advancement from previous negotiations, emphasizing gains for veteran workers and steps toward achieving equal pay for equal work. Quoting Fain, “I truly believe these are record contracts and are a major victory for our movement.”

Having said that, voices from within the UAW, like Brian Keller and Timothy Orner, express concerns about various aspects of the agreements, including parts consolidation, potential layoffs, and changes in 401(k) benefits. These concerns highlight the nuanced perspectives within the union, reflecting a diversity of priorities and expectations.

The mixed reception of these agreements reflects trust issues, expectation management, and the complexities of balancing diverse worker needs. What happens next depends on the union members' votes. If they reject a company's agreement, the UAW might have to change its approach, possibly revisiting negotiations or calling more strikes. These outcomes will not only shape the UAW's future but could also influence labor practices across the industry. Following the tentative deals, automakers like Toyota, Honda, and Hyundai have raised wages, showing the UAW's wider impact on the sector. As the industry awaits the final voting results, the potential ripple effects of these agreements are a point of focus.

The UAW’s deal to end the GM strike could be in trouble

Chris Isidore
Tue, November 14, 2023 

U.A.W. President Shawn Fain speaks before President Joe Biden spoke to U.A.W. workers Thursday, Nov. 9, 2023, in Belvidere, Il.
 (AP Photo/Paul Beaty) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

A growing number of rank-and-file autoworkers are voting against the deals with Ford and General Motors, despite pay increases that could come to 30% or more during the life of the contract.

The latest setbacks for the deals came in votes at two GM plants, a truck factory in Flint, Michigan, a city known as the birthplace of the union and a Spring Hill, Tennessee plant that builds SUVs for Cadillac and GMC, which both voted no, and by Ford workers in Louisville, Kentucky, home to the company’s largest and most lucrative factories

The Spring Hill plant is the most recent to report results, and it had the greatest level of opposition to the deal. Only 32% of 2,300 members who participated in the ratification vote supported the deal.

At the Flint Truck plant, 52% of the 3,400 members voted against the deal. The votes took the overall GM vote down to only 52% voting to ratify so far.

The Ford vote in Kentucky showed 55% of the members at the Kentucky Truck plant voting against the deal. That plant went on strike with little notice on October 12, about three weeks into the strike that targeted specific plants at the company. Members at Ford’s nearby Louisville Assembly plant who belong to the same union local voted 53% in favor of the deal. The Kentucky local voted against a 2019 contract at Ford by an even larger margin and that contract passed despite its opposition.

While the ratification vote at both companies still has the support of the majority of members, neither vote is large enough at this point to assure passage, especially with some large union locals yet to weigh in.

A vote tracker on the UAW site shows that 65% of members at Ford who have voted so far approve of the deal. But that’s down from the more than 70% who had voted yes heading into the weekend.

A “no” vote at either company could lead to a resumption of the strike, perhaps with little notice. But it wouldn’t be unique, as there have been several instances in which the rank-and-file have voted against deals negotiated by their union and endorsed by its leadership.

The UAW members at Mack Truck voted down a tentative agreement with that heavy truck maker on October 8, and have been on strike ever since, although they are in the process of voting on a slightly different version of that rejected deal once again.

Spokespeople for both GM and Ford declined to comment on the ratification votes so far.

UAW President Shawn Fain has told members repeatedly that these are record contracts and wins for the members, and that the union negotiators won every last dime the companies had to offer. But he also has said the final decision on what to do is up to the rank-and-file.

While the deals give an immediate 11% pay raise to members, guaranteed wage increases totaling another 14% over the next four years and a cost-of-living adjustment that could bring wages up to more than 30% when combined with the guaranteed wages, it did not meet all of the union’s negotiating demands at the start of talks.

The union began demanding an immediate 20% raise and raises totaling 40% during the life of the contract. And it wanted a return of traditional pension plans for workers hired after 2007, who have only a 401(K) plan for their retirement, and health care coverage for retirees and their families.

When Fain and other union officials were spelling out the deals reached with the three companies on Facebook Live, comments that appeared on the feed showed many members urging other members to vote no on the deals.

Some members voicing complaints online argued that the deal didn’t do enough to help the more senior employees who had been with the companies since before 2007. Others complained about the lack of health care coverage for retirees, especially since many members retire from production jobs before they’re eligible for Medicare. And some just urged members to vote no without giving a reason.

Results are due in at other Ford locals by the the end of the this week, including the large local that represents numerous plants in the same complex in Dearborn Michigan. The votes at GM and Stellantis are likely to stretch into next week.

So far the vote at Stellantis has overwhelming support, with 82% of the members who have voted supporting the deal. So far, the only unit of the union at Stellantis to vote no is the one that represents about 300 workers at a parts distribution center in Marysville, Michigan, about an hour north of Detroit.


Autoworkers hesitate on new contracts despite 'record' pay increases

Marley Jay
Tue, November 14, 2023 


Michael Swensen

Workers at Ford, Stellantis and General Motors are weighing in on the new contracts proposed by their union and the Big Three — and more than a few of them seem unsatisfied with what they're being offered.

According to a document submitted to the NBC affiliate WSMV-TV in Nashville, workers at GM's Spring Hill Manufacturing plant rejected the contract this week. The document showed that about 72% of production workers and 56% of skilled trade workers opposed the deal.

A majority of employees at UAW Local 602 in Lansing, Michigan, also reportedly voted against the contract this week.

Those are some of the latest GM employees who have said no to the contract after the six-week strike.

The UAW's "ratification trackers," which are updated hourly, show that almost 16,000 GM employees have voted on the contract so far, and they're backing the deal by a narrow margin of 52% to 48%.

The proposed contracts were negotiated after members of the UAW went on strike on Sept. 15. If majorities at each automaker approve, the pacts will last through April 30, 2028. Union members will get an 11% initial wage increase and a total pay increase of 25% over the course of the 4½ year deal. The new contracts also reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, let workers reach top wages in three years instead of eight, and protect their right to strike over plant closures.

Both the United Auto Workers and the carmakers described the deals as "record" contracts based on those pay increases. The union also said that members were regaining some of the benefits they agreed to give up after the Great Recession to help keep the automakers alive.

Compared to GM, Ford employees seem a bit more enthusiastic. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 25,000 votes among Ford employees had been counted and the UAW said 65.9% supported ratification.

Ford was the first of the Big Three to reach an agreement with the UAW, and its members are scheduled to finish voting on the proposed contact on Friday.

The first group of Ford employees to weigh in was Local 900 at the Michigan assembly plant, which was the first Ford plant to go on strike. The UAW said 82% of those members voted to ratify the contract, with more than 3,000 'yes' votes.

Fewer Stellantis employees have voted so far, but the UAW tracker shows that more than 80% of the 6,000 voters approved.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com


UAW strike against Big Three may not be over as Spring Hill rejects GM contract

WTVF - Nashville Scripps
Tue, November 14, 2023


UAW ratification vote ongoing - track voting totals on Detroit 3 contract offers here

Jack Nissen
Tue, November 14, 2023 at 
DETROIT (FOX 2) - The hard part may be over, but the UAW strike won't officially end until the union's members vote to ratify the contract negotiated with Detroit's three automakers.

The ratification process requires that local groups review and discuss contract offers before workers decide to vote on whether to approve or reject the proposals. The UAW president has held multiple updates on Facebook and YouTube since securing offers from Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, pitching members on what he has sold as an "historic deal."

That includes gains worth four times the value of previous contracts and a 25% wage boost from each of the automakers.

MORE: Here's how the UAW ratification process unfolds

But unless the members agree, the contracts won't take effect.

The UAW has posted ratification results from each automaker's local union groups that are updated hourly.
Ford ratification results

Ford employs the largest number of UAW members. The sheet tracking the votes can be found here.

Some of the largest local groups include its assembly plants in Kentucky, Chicago, Wayne, and Kansas City. There are also parts and components plants for building transmissions and engines manned by UAW members who are voting.

Find details of the contract here.
GM ratification results

There are 46,000 workers employed by GM that are voting on their own agreement.

The agreement with GM includes similar gains as what's written into the other two contracts. GM was also the first automaker to agree in principle to roping its future battery plants under the union's Master Agreement.

The GM's ratification vote tracker can be found here.
Stellantis ratification results

Stellantis was the second automaker to reach a deal with the UAW. They have some of the largest plants in Michigan, including its assembly plant in Sterling Heights. The company agreed to $19 billion in U.S. investments during negotiations, which included saving the Belvidere Assembly Plant.

The details of the contract can be found here.

Track the ratification vote here.


GM workers at big Texas plant approve UAW deal, boosting chances of passage

Wed, November 15, 2023 

FILE PHOTO: Logo of GM atop the company headquarters


By David Shepardson

(Reuters) - More than 60% of United Auto Workers union members at General Motors' Arlington, Texas assembly plant voted to approve a new labor deal, boosting the odds of passage, in what is the closest vote of the three Detroit automakers.

Voting on the UAW-GM deal has turned into a nail-biter, unlike Ford and Stellantis, where the union's negotiated agreement set to run through April 2028 looks like it will pass with comfortable margins.

The UAW's GM vote tracking site currently shows approval of the contract leading by a 52% to 48% margin with about 22,150 workers having cast votes out of about 46,000 UAW-represented GM workers. That total does not include Arlington, which has about 5,000 UAW members, the most of any GM plant.

Voting ends on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.

The UAW went on strike for more than six weeks against the Detroit 3, seeking better wages, working conditions and cost-of-living adjustments. All three companies agreed to tentative agreements about two weeks ago.

Workers at other GM plants have voted against the deal, including 60% of workers at its Fort Wayne, Indiana truck plant, 53% at its Wentzville, Missouri plant, and 58% of workers at GM's Lansing Grand River plant.

Other GM plants have yet to vote, including its Lockport, New York plant.

UAW President Shawn Fain told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that early voting was trending positive. "Early results are very favorable," he said.

The UAW's new agreement with GM grants a 25% increase in base wage through April 2028 and will cumulatively raise the top wage by 33%, compounded with estimated cost-of-living adjustments to over $42 an hour.

Currently, about 66% of Ford workers that have voted are in favor of the UAW deal; about 79% of Stellantis workers have so far voted in favor, according to UAW figures.

Automakers were previously slashing costs and navigating a bumpy road to manufacture EVs and catch up with market leader Tesla, but lower margins on those vehicles have deterred them from accelerating the move.

GM in October also pulled its full-year profit forecast due to the strike and postponed a $4 billion electric truck plant in Michigan.

The UAW strike is already helping boost wages at rivals like Hyundai and Toyota

Graham Rapier,Associated Press,Nora Naughton
Tue, November 14, 2023 


The UAW union secured historic raises for its 140,000 members after a six-week strike.


The union now wants to target non-uninonized companies like Tesla.


Companies including Toyota and Honda are now rolling out raises of their own.

Roughly 140,000 unionized auto workers will soon ratify new contracts with the Detroit 3 automakers that, among other wins, solidify pay and benefits increases of up to 33%, topping out at roughly $42 per hour.

The deals, achieved after a six-week strike that ended in late October, appear to already be having repercussions outside of Ford, and General Motors. Some non-unionized automakers are now boosting wages for their own workers.

Hyundai, a tour-de-force in cool new electric vehicles, on Monday said it would raise wages by 25% for about 4,000 workers at its Alabama and Georgia by 2028, with the first bumps coming in January. The company said the raises would help it remain competitive and recruit and retain top talent.

Hyundai isn't the first to react to the new UAW contracts. Toyota said earlier in November that it would give workers at its Kentucky factory a 9% raise on January 1, with those at the top of the scale hitting $34.80 an hour, Reuters reported.

And Honda, too, said it would increase wages 11% beginning in January. Both Toyota and Honda also accelerated the time it takes for a starting employee to reach the top pay rate, which would match or come close to promises in the new UAW contracts.

The ripple effects aren't coincidences.

Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University, said it's likely the UAW settlement contributed to the raises at the nonunion factories.

"There's also a strong labor market, the companies are doing very well," Katz said. "They've always wanted to stay nonunion, and they try to stay close to the Detroit top-tier wages."

The UAW, for its part, has openly said it hopes to unionize more factories and automakers — especially Tesla, where pay is, by some measures, significantly less. However, prior unionization drives have failed at Tesla and CEO Elon Musk has been openly hostile about the possibility of one. That's why some experts say smaller, foreign companies may be easier targets.

"When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won't just be with the Big Three," President Shawn Fain said this month, "but with the Big Five or Big Six."

While non-unionized companies appear to be trying to stave off such organizing drives with better pay, the tactic may actually hand the UAW an advantage, Art Wheaton, a labor expert at Cornell University, told Insider.

"Responding with wage increases this quickly only helps the UAW's cause," Wheaton said. "They can point to 9% raises at Toyota and say 'look, we're already moving the needle, we can keep helping you.'"

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