DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford that could be a breakthrough toward ending the nearly 6-week-old strikes against Detroit automakers.
The four-year deal, which still has to be approved by 57,000 union members at the company, could bring a close to the union’s series of strikes at targeted factories run by Ford, General Motors and Jeep maker Stellantis.
The Ford deal could set the pattern for agreements with the other two automakers, where workers will remain on strike. The UAW called on all workers at Ford to return to their jobs and said that will put pressure on GM and Stellantis to bargain. Announcements on how to do that will come later.
Kurt Steiss, The Blade via AP
Strikers picket Wednesday at one of the gates during the ongoing United Auto Workers strike at the Stellantis Toledo Assembly Complex in Toledo, Ohio.
“We told Ford to pony up, and they did,” President Shawn Fain said in a video address to members. “We won things no one thought possible.” He added that Ford put 50% more money on the table than it did before the strike started on Sept. 15.
UAW Vice President Chuck Browning, the chief negotiator with Ford, said workers will get a 25% general wage increase, plus cost of living raises that will put the pay increase over 30%, to above $40 per hour for top-scale assembly plant workers by the end of the contract.
Previously Ford, Stellantis and General Motors had all offered 23% pay increases.
Assembly workers will get 11% upon ratification, almost equal to all of the wage increases workers have seen since 2007, Browning said.
Typically, during past auto strikes, a UAW deal with one automaker has led to the other companies matching it with their own settlements.
GM said in a statement it is “working constructively” with the union to reach an agreement as soon as possible. Stellantis also said it’s committed to reaching a deal “that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible.”
Browning said temporary workers will get more in wage increases than they have over the past 22 years combined. Temporary workers will get raises over 150% and retirees will get annual bonuses, he said.
“Thanks to the power of our members on the picket line and the threat of more strikes to come, we have won the most lucrative agreement per member since Walter Reuther was president,” Browning said. Reuther led the union from 1946 until his death in 1970.
Fain said that the union’s national leadership council of local union presidents and bargaining chairs will travel Sunday to Detroit, where they’ll get a presentation on the agreement and vote on whether to recommend it to members. Sunday evening the union will host a Facebook Live video appearance and regional meetings to explain the deal to members.
While on the picket line at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant west of Detroit Wednesday night, local union leaders invited workers across the road for a briefing on the deal. As they trickled out of the building, many were smiling and most were relieved.
“It’s an emotional time for me. I’m emotional,” worker Keith Jurgelewicz said as his eyes welled up with tears. “But just super excited that this is over with. I just can’t wait to get back to work and just get on with my life.”
Jurgelewicz said he is happy that the end of the strike came during his shift on the picket lines, where he has faithfully appeared for all of his shifts.
“Hopefully, GM and Stellantis can get their deals done. … Historic day for us,” he said.
In a statement, President Joe Biden, who had visited GM picketers near Detroit early in the strikes, “I’ve always believed the middle class built America and unions built the middle class,” Biden said. “This tentative agreement is a testament to the power of employers and employees coming together to work out their differences at the bargaining table in a manner that helps businesses succeed while helping workers secure pay and benefits they can raise a family on.”
Workers with pensions also will see increases for when they retire, and those hired after 2007 with 401(k) plans will get large increases, Browning said.
For the first time, the union will have the right to go on strike over company plans to close factories, he said.
“That means they can’t keep devastating our communities and closing plants with no consequences,” Browning said. “Together we have made history.”
Ford said it is pleased to have reached the deal, and said it would focus on restarting the huge Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, as well as the Chicago Assembly Plant. The Louisville plant alone employs 8,700 workers and makes high profit heavy duty F-Series pickup trucks and big truck-based SUVs.
In all, 20,000 workers will be coming back on the job and shipping the company’s full lineup of vehicles to customers, Ford said.
Ford’s statement made no mention of the cost of the contract. Company executives said last week they were at the limit of what they could pay while still being able to invest in new vehicles and the transition from internal combustion to electric vehicles.
“This agreement sets us on a new path to make things right at Ford, at the Big Three, and across the auto industry. Together, we are turning the tide for the working class in this country,” Fain said.
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Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
While used car prices continued to fall in September, this rate of decline is slowing from the more substantial drops they saw over the summer. Used car prices are still elevated above the levels at which they started the year. This is compounded by the fact that inventories for vehicles impacted by the ongoing UAW strike on the Big 3 automakers are already starting to deplete, raising questions around how the strike will impact the market's future path toward recovery.
Using its PricePulse data set, CoPilot measures the difference between what any used car price would have been today, if not for the extraordinary dynamics of the past two years, versus how much it is actually worth now, at retail.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
While used car prices continued to fall in September, this rate of decline is slowing from the more substantial drops they saw over the summer. Used car prices are still elevated above the levels at which they started the year. This is compounded by the fact that inventories for vehicles impacted by the ongoing UAW strike on the Big 3 automakers are already starting to deplete, raising questions around how the strike will impact the market's future path toward recovery.
Using its PricePulse data set, CoPilot measures the difference between what any used car price would have been today, if not for the extraordinary dynamics of the past two years, versus how much it is actually worth now, at retail.
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Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers
CoPilot
With an average listing price of $31,163, used cars are still priced $6,253 (or 25%) above where they would be expected to be in a normal, non-COVID economy. In fact, used cars overall still remain $360 higher than the price levels at which they started the year.
Consequently, there has been little to no material difference in price for most consumers—and many brands are priced higher than at the start of the year. Compounding this problem has been the multiple interest rate hikes that have drastically increased the cost of owning a car for those taking out a loan to do so. Declining sales numbers among older model vehicles point to many consumers being effectively priced out of the used car market.
CoPilot
With an average listing price of $31,163, used cars are still priced $6,253 (or 25%) above where they would be expected to be in a normal, non-COVID economy. In fact, used cars overall still remain $360 higher than the price levels at which they started the year.
Consequently, there has been little to no material difference in price for most consumers—and many brands are priced higher than at the start of the year. Compounding this problem has been the multiple interest rate hikes that have drastically increased the cost of owning a car for those taking out a loan to do so. Declining sales numbers among older model vehicles point to many consumers being effectively priced out of the used car market.
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Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers
CoPilot
The UAW strike began September 15, 2023 and affected Detroit's Big Three automobile manufacturers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. The table above shows the UAW strike impact on affected domestic car brands. Note that MDS measures availability by dividing the current car supply by the average sales rate over the past 45 days.
In general, price premiums for domestic brands fell by 5% in September. But, affordability for domestic brands will remain in question as the UAW strikes start to impact new car inventory and eventually potentially trickle into the used car market. As the strike continues, affected vehicle models are unlikely to see an increase in supply, meaning future price increases are largely inevitable.
CoPilot
The UAW strike began September 15, 2023 and affected Detroit's Big Three automobile manufacturers: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. The table above shows the UAW strike impact on affected domestic car brands. Note that MDS measures availability by dividing the current car supply by the average sales rate over the past 45 days.
In general, price premiums for domestic brands fell by 5% in September. But, affordability for domestic brands will remain in question as the UAW strikes start to impact new car inventory and eventually potentially trickle into the used car market. As the strike continues, affected vehicle models are unlikely to see an increase in supply, meaning future price increases are largely inevitable.
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Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers
CoPilot
On September 15th, the UAW strike halted production at three plants producing the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, Chevrolet Colorado, and other popular models. On September 29th the strike continued to Ford's Chicago assembly plant and GM's Lansing, Michigan assembly plant. This spread the strike's impact to more models, including the Chevy Traverse and Ford Explorer.
Availability of models produced at the affected plants is starting to struggle. The Jeep Gladiator's market days supply is down by 36% since September 10, the Chevrolet Colorado is down by 31%, and the Chevrolet Malibu is down by 22% – and CoPilot expects prices will soon follow suit.
CoPilot
On September 15th, the UAW strike halted production at three plants producing the Ford Bronco, Jeep Wrangler, Chevrolet Colorado, and other popular models. On September 29th the strike continued to Ford's Chicago assembly plant and GM's Lansing, Michigan assembly plant. This spread the strike's impact to more models, including the Chevy Traverse and Ford Explorer.
Availability of models produced at the affected plants is starting to struggle. The Jeep Gladiator's market days supply is down by 36% since September 10, the Chevrolet Colorado is down by 31%, and the Chevrolet Malibu is down by 22% – and CoPilot expects prices will soon follow suit.
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Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers
CoPilot
Each vehicle age bracket continues to see steady price declines, though older cars are falling in price at a somewhat greater clip. All age brackets have seen their price premium fall for at least the past five months. As the strike starts to bring down inventories of Big 3-produced domestic brands, new and used car prices have yet to increase – but soon will.
While new car sales have increased over the past month, up by 5% as consumers reacted to the possibility of strike-related price increases to come, demand for older used cars has dampened. Sales of 8-13-year-old cars fell by 4% in September, while those of 4-7-year-old vehicles fell by 3%, as still-elevated interest rates and dwindling pandemic-era savings place more constraints on consumers.
CoPilot
Each vehicle age bracket continues to see steady price declines, though older cars are falling in price at a somewhat greater clip. All age brackets have seen their price premium fall for at least the past five months. As the strike starts to bring down inventories of Big 3-produced domestic brands, new and used car prices have yet to increase – but soon will.
While new car sales have increased over the past month, up by 5% as consumers reacted to the possibility of strike-related price increases to come, demand for older used cars has dampened. Sales of 8-13-year-old cars fell by 4% in September, while those of 4-7-year-old vehicles fell by 3%, as still-elevated interest rates and dwindling pandemic-era savings place more constraints on consumers.
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Autoworkers reach a deal with Ford, a breakthrough toward ending strikes against Detroit automakers
CoPilot
Used Teslas remain one of the consistently best values in the used car market, as the only brand in CoPilot's Index that is currently priced below normal levels, at prices $526 (or 1%) below normal. Since Tesla first announced price cuts in late December 2022, average prices of its used models have fallen by a total of $11,533 (or 22%).
However, amid surging demand and dwindling supply, used electric vehicles overall actually increased in price in September. Used electric vehicles had an average listing price of $42,804, up by $524. This represents the first monthly increase in price for the first time in over a year, as used EV sales have increased by 25%, and market days supply has fallen by 22%, since July. At 82 market days supply, new EV inventory remains considerably elevated, as consumer interest in EV stagnates despite price drops and government incentives and tax rebates.
This story was produced by CoPilot and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
CoPilot
Used Teslas remain one of the consistently best values in the used car market, as the only brand in CoPilot's Index that is currently priced below normal levels, at prices $526 (or 1%) below normal. Since Tesla first announced price cuts in late December 2022, average prices of its used models have fallen by a total of $11,533 (or 22%).
However, amid surging demand and dwindling supply, used electric vehicles overall actually increased in price in September. Used electric vehicles had an average listing price of $42,804, up by $524. This represents the first monthly increase in price for the first time in over a year, as used EV sales have increased by 25%, and market days supply has fallen by 22%, since July. At 82 market days supply, new EV inventory remains considerably elevated, as consumer interest in EV stagnates despite price drops and government incentives and tax rebates.
This story was produced by CoPilot and reviewed and distributed by Stacker Media.
