UAW president to highlight details of lucrative contract with Stellantis Thursday
(FOX 2) - The UAW will highlight the details of their tentative deal with Stellantis Thursday evening.
President Shawn Fain and Vice President Rich Boyer will discuss aspects of the collective bargaining agreement with the automaker at 7 p.m. online. FOX 2 will stream the discussion when the two union leaders go live.
The union reached a deal with General Motors on Monday, ending an intense six-week long string of negotiations between it and the Detroit 3 that ended in a lucrative deal between the two parties.
Leaning into their slogan "Record Profits Record Contracts," Fain has sold the contract offer that members are now voting on as the best in decades, recouping losses from years of lesser agreements.
The latest deal secures a 25% wage increase for workers that will further rise when accounting for inflation. Speaking Sunday night, Fain also highlighted the loose agreement to bring battery plants under the union's master agreement with the automakers.
The UAW's deal with Stellantis is said to closely resemble the deal with Ford.
The road to agreements wasn't just paved with intense negotiations. There have also been billions of dollars in economic losses for the industry, according to the Anderson Economic Group.
Their latest report on the costs of the strike come out to $10.4 billion, including $4.3 billion in losses to the manufacturers. There was another $3.3 billion in losses to suppliers.
"That victory doesn’t come without costs," said Patrick Anderson of the AEG. "It occurred after the furloughing of over 56,000 Ford, GM, and Stellantis workers around the county, the idling of more than 70 facilities, and over a half billion in lost wages to UAW members."
What's next in UAW ratification process after Big 3 reach deals with union
Big Three automakers are inching closer to having new contract agreements with the UAW implemented. Ford, GM, and Stellantis are currently going through the ratification process.
Some have called the new contracts a sign of a revival of labor unions in the U.S.
In Detroit, negotiations with the automakers haven't been the only collective bargaining going on. Thousands of union members who work at casinos have also been on strike, as well as employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield.