The United Auto Workers (UAW) have reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford, which is a significant step towards ending the union’s six-week-old strikes against Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
UAW President Shawn Fain announced the news in a video posted on social media, stating, “Today we reached a tentative agreement with Ford.”
The agreement is still subject to approval by Ford’s approximately 57,000 UAW workers.
CBS News reports that the tentative contract will likely include cost-of-living pay increases of 25% over the four-year deal, which is roughly 2% higher than Ford’s previous offer to the UAW.
This deal with Ford will serve as a model for similar contract settlements with General Motors (GM) and Stellantis, as in the past, a UAW agreement with one automaker has led to similar deals with others.
The tentative agreement comes after 8,700 union members went on strike at Ford’s largest factory in Kentucky two weeks ago. The factory, located in Louisville, produces heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large Ford and Lincoln SUVs.
Due to the strike, Ford has laid off 3,167 employees, and it is unclear if these employees will immediately return to work.
Earlier this month, Ford Chairman Bill Ford called for an end to the strike, emphasizing that the company is not the enemy of UAW members and highlighting its long history with the union.
The UAW strike began when thousands of workers left their posts after their contracts with automakers expired on September 14. Since then, the automakers have laid off thousands of employees, attributing their actions to the ongoing work stoppage.
According to GM, about 2,350 employees across Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New York, and Ohio have been laid off due to the strike. Stellantis, the parent company of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram, has also laid off approximately 1,520 employees across Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio.
In addition to the Ford agreement, Stellantis faced strikes with about 6,800 employees at its largest plant in suburban Detroit, while approximately 5,000 GM workers walked off the job in Texas.
Kris Van Cleave contributed to this report.
