Agreement with Ford—new stage in auto workers strike: UAW update 5

Events are unfolding quickly in the United Auto Workers strike. The purpose of this update is to explain where things stand as of Friday, October 27. By the time this article is published, there may well be new developments. The Labor Notes website is probably the best place to get up to the minute reports.

Run-up to the agreement: strikes spread

Several weeks into the strike, the union decided to dramatically step up the pace of the escalating strike. In rapid succession, the union struck the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, the Stellantis Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, and the GM Arlington Assembly Plant. These are all large and highly profitable factories. The huge River Rouge facility was seen as the next target of the Stand Up strike. These extensions of the strike broke the logjam at the bargaining table. Ford management was very worried by the prospect of River Rouge being struck. So early in the evening of Wednesday, October 25, Ford made a Tentative Agreement, or TA, with the union.

The agreement with Ford

The main points in the TA are:

25 percent general wage increase over the four-and-a-half-year contract with 11 percent front-ended to the first year.
Raising the starting wage to $28 an hour.
Reinstatement of the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).
The progression to the highest wage to take three years, rather than the current eight.
Important improvements in the wages of temporary workers.
Ending the tier system at the Sterling Axle and Rawsonville plants. This will lead to an 85 percent increase for lower tier workers at those factories.
Improvements in the pension plans.
The right to strike against plant closures.

Evaluating the agreement: “Who prevailed—the UAW or Ford?”

Four initial comments can be made about the TA.

One, the wage increases are large. The union estimates that, with COLA, the top rate will increase to about $40 an hour. This is an increase of 33 percent. The general wage increase of 25 percent is more than the sum total of all wage raises since 2001. The starting rate will rise by 68 percent. Temporary worker wages will rise by 150 percent over the next four and a half years.

Two, regaining the COLA and shortening the progression to three years are both real victories.

Three, the right to strike over plant closures is a huge step forward. This will be a giant thorn in management’s side when they attempt to shut factories down. This is a central gain of the new contract.

Four, obviously, the union did not get everything they wanted. For example, while pensions are improved, there is not a return to a defined benefits plan.

From the standpoint of the ruling class, The Wall Street Journal asked the question, “Who prevailed—the UAW or Ford?” Their answer was, “The UAW scored one of its biggest bargaining victories in decades, winning an extremely lucrative deal for its Ford workers, and after weeks of company executives saying they need to keep labor costs in check to remain competitive.” This is a wise assessment from their class point of view and it would be a wise one from our class point of view also.

The ratification process

The next step is for the union ranks to approve or reject the proposed contract. The UAW will abide by the following procedures.

Step one. The Tentative Agreement with Ford.
Step two. UAW Ford National Council votes on whether to approve the agreement and send it to the membership.
Step three. The union will hold a national Facebook Live meeting to review and discuss the agreement. Many of the points in the contract are highly detailed and technical. Members need to actually see it and sift through the details. So the union will publish both the highlights and the actual Change Pages (White Book) online.
Step four. Local leaders will meet in regional meetings to discuss the contract.
Step five. Each local will meet to discuss the contract. The members will then vote. A simple majority is necessary to pass the contract. The membership vote is sovereign and final. If the contract is rejected, the bargaining team will return to the table and the whole process is reopened.

“The members decide”

The new UAW leadership has been stressing a key message. It is up to the membership to decide if they accept or reject this contract. The workers are the highest body in the union. If they accept the contract, well and good. If they reject it, the union leadership goes back into the ring and the bell sounds for the next round. This is exactly what the Fain leadership just did at Mack Truck. There, the membership rejected the proposed contract. Rather than pressuring the members for a re-vote or simply making minimal changes, the Fain team threw itself into the struggle. The members had spoken and the task was now to help them win. This is the approach that the union leadership is currently taking with the Ford Agreement.

Back to work at Ford

The union leadership has called for the Ford workers to return to work as quickly as possible. The picket lines are down. It will take a little time for the skilled trades to get the line and machinery up and running again. But the union has called for a prompt return to work. This is for a very definite reason. It’s part of the Stand Up strike strategy. GM and Stellantis will not want to be in a situation where Ford is producing vehicles and their factories are silent. They fear they will lose market share and Ford will gain a competitive advantage. This will put pressure on them to come to a settlement with the union that matches the Ford agreement. There is every reason to believe that the Stand Up strike strategy is working. There is every reason to continue to support the auto strikers as the battle now moves to Stellantis and GM.