Posts tagged General Motors
UAW and Ford reach tentative contract deal with Ford after 45 days on strike
October 26, 2023 // “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.
Stellantis “outraged” after UAW expands strike to Ram 1500 truck plant
October 24, 2023 // Stellantis said in a statement Monday afternoon it was "outraged" at the union's decision after the company's latest offer, which included a 23% wage increase. "Our very strong offer would address member demands and provide immediate financial gains for our employees," the company said. "Instead, the UAW has decided to cause further harm to the entire automotive industry as well as our local, state and national economies.
UAW workers at ZF plant in Alabama ratify labor deal, end strike
October 20, 2023 // United Auto Workers union members who went on strike at Mercedes-supplier ZF's plant in Alabama last month demanding higher pay and better healthcare benefits ended a nearly month-long walkout on Thursday. The union said the strike by 190 workers was over after a tentative agreement had been ratified. Workers last month had rejected an earlier contract offer. ZF, which makes front axles used by Mercedes-Benz (MBGn.DE) at its nearby Alabama plant, said last month the Tuscaloosa factory would operate while talks with the union continued.
Union Pacific seeks to rework some contracts; flags hit from UAW strike
October 20, 2023 // Union Pacific reported a smaller-than-expected drop in earnings per share to $2.51, according to LSEG data. Profit in the quarter was pressured by a 3% drop in freight volumes as elevated inflation and higher borrowing costs kept consumer demand for goods subdued and a jump in labor costs from efforts to improve services. Its operating ratio, a key metric that indicates operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, rose to 63.4% from 59.9% a year earlier. The ratio has risen over the last six quarters. "I won't sugarcoat our financials. Things cost more to make and to move, and people are buying less of them," Vena said in a letter to employees.
Ford lays off another 150 workers citing UAW strike
October 20, 2023 // Ford Motor (F.N) said late on Wednesday it is laying off another 150 workers in Michigan because of the ongoing United Auto Workers strike, bringing the total to 2,730 workers furloughed. Ford said the UAW's walkout last week at its Kentucky Truck Plant prompted the new layoffs at a Michigan axle plant. Another 16,600 Ford employees are on strike at three assembly plants, including Kentucky Truck, the company's largest plant worldwide.
AUTOS Ford lays off 700 who were building electric version of F-150
October 17, 2023 // The company said it will temporarily cut one of the three shifts at its Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Dearborn, Michigan, near the company's main headquarters. It will rotate the layoffs between the three shifts. Ford had temporarily closed the plant this summer to upgrade its production capability, and the company said this latest layoff is related to "multiple constraints, including the supply chain and working through processing and delivering vehicles held for quality checks after restarting production in August."
Ford says it is ‘at the limit’ with UAW contract offer
October 13, 2023 // Ford officials said on Thursday that cutting a deal that does not allow the company to survive makes no sense and that striking the Kentucky truck plant would also hurt the UAW's profit-sharing checks. In a sign of the strike's expanding impact, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) said on Thursday it is feeling a pinch from the automotive and entertainment labor strikes. Delta President Glen Hauenstein said the UAW strike has curtailed a "significant" amount of business in Detroit. Automakers have more than doubled initial wage hike offers, agreed to raise wages along with inflation and improved pay for temporary workers, but the union wants higher wages still, the abolishment of a two-tier wage system and the expansion of unions to battery plants. The UAW has room to expand its walkouts and increase the pressure on the Detroit Three to offer bigger wage gains, richer retirement packages and more assurances that new electric vehicle battery plants will be unionized.
75,000 Kaiser Permanente workers are on strike
October 4, 2023 // The multi-state strike comes during a time of elevated labor activity in the United States. Several large-scale strikes have paralyzed companies and entire industries in recent months. The United Auto Workers are on strike against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — the first time the union has struck all three simultaneously. The entertainment industry also contended with dual strikes this summer after Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ unions went on strike at the same time for the first time since 1960. The leadership of the Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement with Hollywood studios last month, but the actors’ guild strike is ongoing. The health care industry has been particularly affected by rising strike activity. From the start of 2022 through August of this year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has tracked 42 work stoppages of 1,000 or more strikers. Its count shows a third of those strikes were in health care. That’s up from 24% of major strikes in 2019, the year before the pandemic. The increased number of health care strikes have happened despite health care workers making up only about 9% of private sector union members nationwide.
Mack Trucks Reaches Tentative Deal With Auto Workers Union To Avoid Strike
October 2, 2023 // The tentative agreement was reached just before the current contract between the company and its workers—which was agreed to after a two week strike in 2019—was set to expire.