UAW/Ford Deal

I am at a conference and so don’t really have time to blog at all, but I do feel the need to at least mention that the UAW has come to a deal with Ford and it looks pretty good. The details are definitely not all available yet, especially around the issues of the electric battery plants. But the basic financials are very strong.

The union said the deal included a roughly 25 percent pay increase over four years, cost-of-living wage adjustments, major gains on pensions and job security, and the right to strike over plant closures. It called on striking Ford workers to go back to work while the tentative agreement awaits ratification.

Shawn Fain, the union president, said in a livestream on Facebook that the accord would be submitted to the U.A.W. council that oversees relations with Ford at a meeting in Detroit on Sunday. If the council approves, the union will submit the contract terms to the company’s 57,000 union workers for their verdict.

“We made history,” Mr. Fain said. “We told Ford to pony up, and they did.” He said the terms included an immediate 11 percent wage increase upon ratification.

…

The union said the agreement would ultimately lift the top wage to more than $40 an hour, giving a member working 40 hours a week a base pay of more than $83,000, not including overtime and profit-sharing bonuses, which were more than $14,000 in 2022.

The current top wage is $32 an hour, or about $67,000 a year based on a 40-hour week.

Recent hires who make considerably less than the top wage will see their pay nearly double over the life of the contract, the union said.

The tentative deal with Ford could increase pressure on the other companies to reach an agreement with the union. In the past, once the union reached a deal with one automaker, tentative agreements with the others quickly followed. But that history may not be as relevant now because the U.A.W. had never struck all three companies simultaneously until this year.

I would find it very surprising if the other car companies held out here. Any argument that the other companies can’t afford it is hard to take seriously when Ford cut the deal. Moreover, the workers for the other companies are not only going to want what the Ford workers got, but also are going to be rejuvenated in their desire to keep striking to get it since they can see the win coming.