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'He Believes in Freedom of Speech': UAW Stands Behind Michigan Worker Flipped Off by Trump
"We stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."
Jan 14, 2026
TJ Sabula, the Michigan auto worker who was suspended from his job at Ford after calling President Donald Trump a "pedophile protector," has the backing of the largest US auto union.
United Auto Workers (UAW) on Wednesday pledged to support Sabula, whom it described as "a proud member of a strong and fighting union," further noting that "he believes in freedom of speech, a principle we wholeheartedly embrace, and we stand with our membership in protecting their voice on the job."
UAW vowed that Sabula will receive "the full protection of all negotiated contract language safeguarding his job and his rights as a union member."
Sabula on Tuesday accused Trump of being a "pedophile protector"—in reference to the president's reluctance to release files related to the criminal investigation of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein—while the president was visiting a Ford truck plant in Dearborn, Michigan.
Trump responded by giving Sabula the middle finger, while appearing to mouth or yell "fuck you" back at the auto worker.
WATCH: Trump shows his middle finger and appears to say "fuck you" after Ford worker yells "pedophile protector" - TMZ pic.twitter.com/aFsDmrvkr7
— BNO News (@BNONews) January 13, 2026
Sabula has received an outpouring of support since heckling Trump. A GoFundMe campaign aimed at raising money in support of the suspended auto worker has so far raised more than $350,000.
In a Tuesday interview published by the Washington Post, Sabula said he had "no regrets whatsoever" about yelling at the president, despite the uncertain future he now faces at his job.
"I don’t feel as though fate looks upon you often, and when it does, you better be ready to seize the opportunity,” Sabula told the Post. “And today I think I did that.”
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Ford Warns of Profit Plunge Thanks to Trump Tariffs
Ford's tariff troubles are notable because it "manufactures the most cars in the U.S. of any automaker," and yet is still "being squeezed by new trade barriers imposed by the White House," reported Bloomberg.
Jul 30, 2025
American automaker Ford on Wednesday followed in the steps of General Motors in warning that U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs are going to take a hammer to its bottom line.
As reported by Bloomberg, Ford said that its profit could plunge by up to 36% this year as it expects to take a $2 billion hit from the president's tariffs on key inputs such as steel and aluminum, as well as taxes on car components manufactured in Canada and Mexico. News of Ford's guidance sent its stock shares diving by more than 2% in after-hours trading on Wednesday.
Bloomberg wrote that Ford's tariff troubles are notable because it "manufactures the most cars in the U.S. of any automaker," and yet is still "being squeezed by new trade barriers imposed by the White House."
Ford CFO Sherry House informed reporters during the company's quarterly earnings call that the White House was aware of the troubles the tariffs are causing U.S. automakers and she said that it "is working with us to get this right."
General Motors earlier this month also cited the Trump tariffs as a major reason why its profits fell by $3 billion the previous quarter. Making matters worse, GM said that the impact of the tariffs would be even more significant in the coming quarter when its profits could tumble by as much as $5 billion.
GM's warning came shortly after Jeep manufacturer Stellantis projected that the Trump tariffs would directly lead to $350 million in losses in the first half of 2025.
Trump made raising tariffs on foreign products a key plank of his 2024 election campaign despite the fact that he also ran on lowering inflation, and tariffs historically have led to higher, rather than lower, prices.
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Seeking 'Better Future,' Kentucky EV Battery Workers File for Election to Join UAW
"We're forming our union so we can have a say in our safety and our working conditions," said one worker.
Jan 08, 2025
Workers at a new electric vehicle battery plant in Kentucky filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday requesting an election to join the United Auto Workers, a union that's making a concerted effort to organize in the U.S. South.
The UAW said Wednesday that a supermajority of workers at BlueOval SK (BOSK)—a joint venture of the U.S. car manufacturer Ford and the Korean firm SK On—have backed the organizing effort, citing the need for improved safety protections as well as better pay and benefits. The plant in Glendale, Kentucky is set to begin production this year.
"We're forming our union so we can have a say in our safety and our working conditions," said Halee Hadfield, a quality operator at BOSK. "The chemicals we're working with can be extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, a massive explosion can occur. With our union, we can speak up if we see there's a problem and make sure we're keeping ourselves and the whole community safe."
According to the UAW, the Kentucky workers' NLRB petition marks "the first major filing in the South in 2025 and continues the movement of Southern autoworkers organizing with the UAW."
Andrew McLean, a logistics worker in formation at BOSK, said Wednesday that "with a union, we'll be on a level playing field with management."
"That's so important when you're getting a new plant off the ground," McLean added. "The union allows us to give honest feedback without fear of retaliation."
In a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday, one worker said she will be voting yes on unionization because she wants "a better future for not only myself, but future generations and everyone that works here with me."
The Washington Post noted that, "if successful, the effort could lead to the first unionized Ford-backed EV battery venture, at a time when EV sales in the United States are picking up."
BOSK has made clear that it will fight the organizing drive. A spokesperson for the joint venture said in a statement to the Post that the union election petition is "premature" and claimed that it "puts at risk the freedom and opportunities of our current and soon-to-be-hired Kentucky team members."
The UAW said Wednesday that BOSK "has responded to the campaign by hiring anti-union consultants who are trying to block the workers from organizing."
Angela Conto, a production operator in formation at BOSK, said that "instead of listening to our safety concerns, management has been ordering people to work without proper protective equipment."
"Now they're trying to stop us from forming our union to win a strong voice for safety," said Conto. "But the strong supermajority of workers who've signed union cards shows we're going to fix what's wrong at BOSK and make it the leading manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries in America."
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'Dirty and Dumb!' Trump May Cancel Contracts to Electrify USPS Fleet
"It's stuff like this that will cost us manufacturing jobs/opportunities," warned one critic.
Dec 06, 2024
As part of President-elect Donald Trump's mission to roll back the Biden administration's climate policies, the Republican may cancel contracts to electrify the U.S. Postal Service's fleet, Reuters revealed Friday, citing unnamed sources familiar with transition team discussions.
"The sources told Reuters that Trump's transition team is now reviewing how it can unwind the Postal Service's multibillion-dollar contracts, including with Oshkosh and Ford for tens of thousands of battery-driven delivery trucks and charging stations," according to the news agency.
The USPS in December 2022 announced a five-year $9.6 billion investment that involved electrifying 75% of its next-generation delivery vehicles and installing modern charging infrastructure. That came just months after President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which included $3 billion in funding for the endeavor.
Ford did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on Friday, while Oshkosh said that it "is fully committed to our strong partnership with the USPS and looks forward to continuing to provide our postal carriers with reliable, safe, and sustainable modern delivery vehicles, even as USPS' needs continue to evolve."
The USPS also did not respond to requests for comment and Trump transition team spokesperson Karoline Leavitt declined to address his Postal Service plans, only saying that "President Trump will protect the freedom of Americans to drive whichever vehicle they choose, enhance his tough tariffs on Chinese-imported cars, and save the U.S. auto industry for generations to come. No policy should be deemed official unless it comes directly from President Trump."
During the campaign, Trump pledged to roll back Biden's climate policies if Big Oil poured $1 billion into getting him elected. He also attacked the Democrat's efforts to promote a shift to electric vehicles (EVs). Transportation accounts for the largest portion of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and the United States is the world's top historic emitter.
Even under Biden, U.S. plans to limit planet-heating pollution did not align with the country's contributions to the fossil fuel-driven climate emergency—but climate scientists and advocates widely backed his and later Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign leading up to last month's election, recognizing the threat posed by Trump.
John Hanger, a Democrat who previously held various envirnomental and energy positions in Pennsylvania's government, responded to the Reuters reporting on social media: "Ugh! Canceling contracts to electrify transportation of USPS would be dirty and dumb!"
Meanwhile, Scott Paul, president of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, said that "it's stuff like this that will cost us manufacturing jobs/opportunities."
Some critics also speculated whether such contracts may be redone to benefit Tesla. The company's CEO is Elon Musk, who is the richest man in the world, dumped around $270 million into super political action committees backing Trump's reelection bid, and is set to co-lead his forthcoming Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with fellow billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy.
Last month, Reuters reported on the Trump transition team's plans to kill Biden's fuel efficiency standards and a $7,500 consumer tax credit for EV purchases, which Musk was asked about while he and Ramaswamy were on Capitol Hill Thursday to meet with Republican lawmakers.
"I think we should get rid of all credits," Musk told reporters—despite his own company's reliance on Biden's EV policies.
Responding to Musk's comment in a Friday statement, Will Anderson, EV policy advocate with Public Citizen's Climate Program, said that "as someone who's asking to work for the American people through his so-called DOGE, Musk should not perpetuate crony capitalism that only benefits himself and others with access to Trump."
"If we want the American automobile industry to stay competitive in a global market," he added, "then not only should Musk recognize the benefit of the EV tax credit for American-made vehicles, but he should also recognize the negative impact billions of dollars in continuing oil and gas subsidies will have on a society that needs to transition to a zero-emission and clean-energy future."
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Big Three Autoworkers Approve Contracts After UAW Strike
"It's a good contract, you just can't get around that," said one UAW local president. "You look at the investment we got in 2019 compared to now, it's not rocket science. It's just better."
Nov 17, 2023
As voting wrapped up on Friday, United Auto Workers members at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis were all on track to approve contracts finalized during a six-week UAW strike demanding improved pay, benefits, and working conditions from the "Big Three."
The union's online trackers had the ratification vote results as 68.2% to 31.8% at Ford, 54.7% to 45.3% at GM, and 69.6% to 30.4% at Stellantis as of press time. The UAW and companies have not yet commented on the results.
The UAW launched its "Stand Up Strike" in mid-September, and increased walkouts at various U.S. locations throughout the talks. Rutgers University labor studies professor Rebecca Givan told The New York Times that the strategy "really upended a lot of conventional wisdom" in the labor movement and helped reverse some concessions the union had previously accepted, showing that "if workers build enough power, they can win things back."
The pending agreements, which were reached over a few days at the end of last month, don't deliver on all worker demands but celebrated provisions include 25% wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments through April 30, 2028.
As Bloomberg reported:
Workers at Ford's Dearborn, Michigan, truck plant voted 78% in favor of ratifying the agreement Friday, putting Ford over the top, according to UAW Local 600 President Nick Kottalis.
"It's a good contract, you just can't get around that," Kottalis said. "You look at the investment we got in 2019 compared to now, it's not rocket science. It's just better."
The contracts' expiration date sets up a possible mass action around International Workers' Day on May 1, 2028. The UAW said last month that "we invite unions around the country to align your contract expirations with our own so that together we can begin to flex our collective muscles."
Also framing the Big Three battle as part of a bigger effort, UAW president Shawn Fain declared last month that "if we are going to truly take on the billionaire class and rebuild the economy so that it starts to work for the benefit of the many and not the few, then it's important that we not only strike, but that we strike together."
Fain on Tuesday testified at U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chair Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) hearing about how unions raise up working families and take on corporate greed. The UAW leader stressed the "essential role" of federal lawmakers, calling on them to not only support "our fights and other fights like ours," but also "finish the job for economic and social justice for the entire working class."
Already, the historic Big Three deals are leading to "UAW bumps" at other automakers including Honda, Hyundai, Subaru, and Toyota. The union is also aiming to help organize workers at Telsa, the electric vehicle company of billionaire Elon Musk.
Democratic U.S. President Joe Biden, who is seeking reelection next year, became the first sitting president to join striking workers on a picket line in late September, when he rallied with UAW members outside a GM plant in Belleville, Michigan.
The Biden campaign's Ammar Moussa said in a statement Friday that "Joe Biden isn't just saying that he'll always have workers' backs—he's proving it. After President Biden made history by standing with striking autoworkers, unions have notched historic wins and even nonunionized auto companies are taking note, increasing workers' wages.
"This is what happens when you have a president who cares about working people," added Moussa. "Workers win."
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The UAW’s Game Changer: The Right to Strike Over Mass Layoffs
This historic victory could have significant benefits for all working people.
Nov 14, 2023
The United Auto Workers has scored major victories in its new contracts with the Big Three automakers: GM, Ford, and Stellantis. Not only did the union win massive wage increases and other critical demands, but it also won the virtually unheard of right to strike over plant closures. This historic victory could have significant benefits for all working people.
Since the dawn of capitalism, plant closings and mass layoffs have disrupted working-class lives. The problem rapidly accelerated when Republican and Democratic administrations, starting with Reagan in 1980, freed Wall Street from regulations that discouraged job-killing leveraged corporate takeovers and stock buybacks. While researching my upcoming book, Wall Street’s War on Workers, we found that more than 30 million workers have been subjected to mass layoffs since 1996.
The auto industry was one of the first to institute mass layoffs as mismanagement and stiff competition from abroad in the 1970s cut into the Big Three’s market share. Until this recent UAW contract, unions mostly had been unable to stop mass layoffs. Instead, they only had the contractual right to conduct “effects bargaining,” negotiating to secure severance payments for the workers who would be let go. Even if they had wanted to strike, in most cases it would have been prohibited by their contracts.
The UAW has changed that game. If GM or Ford or Stellantis decide to shut down a facility going forward, they will now be forced to think twice. Is the risk of a national strike that could cost them billions, worth the short-term savings that come with layoffs? Or might it make more sense to find another use for the facility and keep everyone working? The new UAW contracts with the Big Three bring this entirely new financial dynamic into the mass layoff game. Already, Stellantis has agreed to reopen its plant in Belvidere, Illinois, and rehire all 1,200 laid-off workers there.
As Stellantis just demonstrated by reopening its Belvidere facility, large corporations are far more flexible than their public rhetoric suggests.
But doesn’t forcing the companies to keep those workers employed weaken them and make them less competitive? That’s what corporations always claim… at least until persuaded and pressured to do otherwise. However, corporate leaders know that mass layoffs often have little to do with production and sales. In many cases, mass layoffs are used to squeeze more cash out of the company to finance stock buybacks – a legalized form of stock manipulation that enriches top corporate officials and Wall Street stock-sellers (see Mass Layoff Capitalism). For example, in the last 12 years, GM has poured more than $21 billion into stock buybacks. No one knows for certain how many jobs were lost to help finance those buybacks, but the number is certainly significant. In 2015 alone, the company laid off 14,000 employees.
Our research suggests that in many, if not most, cases, stock buybacks and/or leveraged buyouts precede mass layoffs. Companies like Toys “R” Us and Bed, Bath and Beyond have been ruined by that process.
But what if an auto company really can’t sell one of its products? How then could it possibly keep a plant open?
As Stellantis just demonstrated by reopening its Belvidere facility, large corporations are far more flexible than their public rhetoric suggests. They are adept at finding ways to cut costs by outsourcing work to non-union labor, here and abroad. If pressured, they have the capacity to redirect that production to facilities that are being shut down here and re-employ union labor.
An excellent example of this flexibility can be found at Siemens Energy. The company decided in 2020 to quit the oil drilling and fracking businesses and announced layoffs of approximately 1,700 U.S. workers and another 3,000 thousand in Germany. In the U.S., all the layoffs took place and the unions involved conducted effects bargaining. But in Germany, where workers hold half the seats on the Siemens board of directors, the union won an agreement that there would be no compulsory layoffs. Instead, the company was allowed to try to entice workers to leave voluntarily with significant pay and benefit packages. The company also agreed to put new production into the six facilities that were originally scheduled to be shut down.
The UAW is forging a new path to build real union power to stop corporate mass layoffs through the right to strike.
In the U.S., workers do not have that kind of leverage on boards of directors. In Germany, it is mandated by laws urged upon them by the U.S. after WWII. The UAW is forging a new path to build real union power to stop corporate mass layoffs through the right to strike.
Shawn Fain, the visionary and effective UAW president, wants these union successes to spread far and wide. He is urging every union to have their contracts end on the same date—May 1, 2028—the internationally recognized Labor Day, which honors the 1892 Homestead strike for the eight-hour work day. With concerted pressure, perhaps the labor movement would develop broader, basic common demands that support the working class. Stopping needless mass layoffs should be near the top of the list.
Can you imagine if every union had the right to strike over mass layoffs and then succeeded in protecting job security? That might lead to an explosion of workers wanting to join unions. We might even see a repeat of a legendary story from the diary of a union organizer during the 1940s: “Today I organized 12 new local unions,” he wrote. Of course, he didn’t go out and organize each one on his own. They were running into the organizer’s office requesting union charters.
Today, for the first time in a long, long time, there’s a decent chance that workers will be running to the UAW.
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The UAW Is Leading the World Toward a May Day to Remember
If May 1, 2028, arrives without signed contracts for America’s unionized auto workers, UAW president Shawn Fain has now made plain, these workers don’t plan on walking out alone.
Nov 05, 2023
The folks at the U.S. Coast Guard know “mayday” as well as anyone. Every year they handle thousands of “mayday” distress calls. Their counterparts worldwide handle thousands more. Overall, the number of “mayday” calls since the 1920s—when “mayday” became the international go-to for declaring emergency situations—now runs well into the millions.
But we’ve never had a “mayday” more socially consequential than the “mayday” that U.S. auto workers have just thrust upon our global calendar. This potential “mayday” just happens to impact only our world’s richest—and has suddenly become a much more real possibility than a crash of any one of their outrageously deluxe private jets.
What have U.S. auto workers done? They’ve successfully bargained a set of watershed contracts that establish May 1, 2028, as the day the workers of our world may actually unite, for the first time ever, against our world’s super wealthy.
The greatest significance of the new UAW auto industry contracts may be the impact these bargaining triumphs will have on the future. These agreements could become the single most important step to a more equal world that any of us have ever seen.
The new contracts the United Auto Workers union is now signing with Detroit’s Big Three—Ford, GM, and Stellantis—all set April 30, 2028 as their expiration date. That would make May 1 the day the workers the three new contracts cover walk out on strike if no new deal materializes.
This May 1 date, of course, holds enormous global significance. Working people the world over have been celebrating the first of May as “International Labor Day” for generations, in a tradition that began back in 1886 when workers in the United States struggling for an eight-hour day staged a May 1 national protest.
If May 1, 2028, arrives without signed contracts for America’s unionized auto workers, UAW president Shawn Fain has now made plain, these workers don’t plan on walking out alone.
“We invite unions around the country to align your contract expirations with our own so that together we can begin to flex our collective muscles,” says Fain. “If we’re going to truly take on the billionaire class and rebuild the economy so that it starts to work for the benefit of the many and not the few, then it’s important that we not only strike but that we strike together.”
And by aligning the UAW’s next big contract deadline with International Labor Day, the union is clearly inviting coordination beyond the national level. The May Day that workers worldwide have so long honored, as Fain notes, has always been “more than just a day of commemoration, it’s a call to action.” And the labor movement worldwide, as the latest headlines remind us, is showing real signs of acting more in strategic concert.
Within the global auto industry, for instance, no corporation more embodies the inequality our corporate world order has spread so aggressively than the non-union Tesla. Under CEO Elon Musk, the world’s richest single individual, Tesla pays wages that run substantially below the hourly rates at Detroit’s Big Three, and that gap will only widen after the new UAW contracts go into full effect.
This shortchanging of workers has sped the growth of Musk’s fabulous fortune and helped boost Tesla’s share of the global electrical vehicle market to about 60%. The new UAW contracts, predicts German Bender of the Swedish think-tank Arena, could well “boost union interest among Tesla workers.”
That interest already seems to be growing. On the final Friday of the UAW walkout in the United States, workers at Tesla-owned servicing shops in Sweden went out on strike—after five years of fruitless attempts to get Tesla’s Swedish subsidiary to reach a bargaining agreement. That strike has now spread to all auto shops in Sweden that do work on Tesla cars.
This Swedish walkout, the global union confederation IndustriALL has announced, represents the first formal strike against Tesla anywhere in the world. And the challenge to Tesla may soon be spreading beyond Sweden. Germany’s largest union, Bloomberg reports, is hoping to organize a 12,000-worker Tesla plant near Berlin.
Tesla’s over 120,000 workers worldwide will certainly see plenty to like in the new UAW contracts in the United States. At Ford, workers who started as temps making $16.67 an hour will be automatically moving to permanent status and an hourly wage rate of at least $24.91. That rate will hit $40.82 an hour by the contract’s end, and any inflation between now and then will kick that rate still higher.
Workers in major American industries haven’t seen gains that stunning since the middle of the 20th century, a time when the chief execs of America’s largest corporations averaged only just over 20 times the compensation of their workers. That gap today, the Economic Policy Institutecalculates, is now running nearly 350 times.
But the greatest significance of the new UAW auto industry contracts may be the impact these bargaining triumphs will have on the future. These agreements could become the single most important step to a more equal world that any of us have ever seen.
The giants of American auto manufacturing, as Fain puts it, “underestimated” their own workers’ capacity to unite and fight together.
“We have shown the companies, the American public, and the whole world that the working class is not done fighting,” he adds. “In fact, we’re just getting started.”
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'UAW Bump': Toyota Announces Raises After Union Reaches Tentative Deal With Big Three
"They did it now because the company knows we're coming for them," UAW president Shawn Fain said in response to the news.
Nov 03, 2023
Days after the United Auto Workers announced tentative deals with the Big Three carmakers, Toyota confirmed this week that it would offer raises to its nonunion U.S. factory workers.
The Japanese automaker said Wednesday that hourly manufacturers at the top of the pay scale would see a 9% raise beginning January 1, Reuters reported. UAW president Shawn Fain, who is attempting to use the union's victory to bolster the wider labor movement, said that the timing of Toyota's announcement was no coincidence.
"Toyota isn't giving out raises out of the goodness of their heart," he said in a video statement shared by More Perfect Union on Friday. "Toyota is the largest and most profitable auto company in the world. They could have just as easily raised wages a month ago or a year ago. They did it now because the company knows we're coming for them."
In the deals struck with Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors, the UAW secured a 25% pay raise over the life of the contracts. The tentative agreements brought an end to a historic six-week strike, as members return to work while they vote on whether or not to ratify the deals.
The UAW has negotiated for the three contracts to expire on April 30, 2028, a slightly longer lifespan than usual, according to Labor Notes. In a speech Sunday, Fain said part of the reason for the longer contracts was to give the labor movement time to build toward a potential strike on May Day 2028. Fain also said the UAW planned to spend the next four-and-a-half years organizing workers at nonunion plants owned by companies including Tesla, Volkswagen, Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota.
"When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won't just be with the Big Three. It will be the Big Five or Big Six," Fain said.
"UAW. That stands for, 'You are welcome.'"
On Monday, a Toyota employee at a plant in Alabama told Labor Notes that management had called workers into an emergency meeting offering to raise top pay to $32 an hour and to scale up workers to that level in four years instead of eight. Another employee at a Kentucky plant said the top rate for production workers there had been raised by $2.94 to $34.80 and skilled trades workers saw a $3.70 boost to $43.20.
Toyota confirmed it was offering raises to news outlets Wednesday. It also said it was halving the time needed to reach top pay across the board and expanding paid time off.
"We value our employees and their contributions, and we show it by offering robust compensation packages that we continually review to ensure that we remain competitive within the automotive industry," Chris Reynolds, Toyota Motor North America's executive vice president, said in a statement reported by Reuters.
Toyota's actions are in keeping with findings that a strong union movement benefits nonunion workers as well. During the 1950s, when union membership peaked at one-third of U.S. workers, income inequality was at its lowest since the Great Depression spike, according to figures shared by the Department of the Treasury. By 2022, only 10% of U.S. workers were in a union, and the top 1% took home almost 20% of total income. If private sector union membership increases by just 1%, nonunion workers see a 0.3% wage increase.
"Even though you're not yet members of our union, that pay raise Toyota's giving you is the UAW bump," Fain addressed Toyota workers in his statement. "UAW. That stands for, 'You are welcome.'"
"You are welcome to join our Stand Up movement," he continued. "If this is what Toyota gives you when the Big Three stand up and fight, imagine what you could accomplish if you join the UAW and stand up and fight for yourselves."
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UAW Wins Tentative Contract Deal With Final Big Three Holdout General Motors
The tentative agreement reportedly includes a general wage increase of 25% over four years and cost-of-living adjustments.
Oct 30, 2023
The United Auto Workers on Monday secured a tentative agreement with General Motors that reportedly includes a 25% general wage increase over the life of the four-and-a-half-year contract as well as cost-of-living adjustments.
According to Bloomberg, the UAW's agreement with GM has similar economic terms as the historic tentative deal the union reached with Ford last week and a subsequent agreement with Stellantis over the weekend.
With the GM deal, the UAW has now reached a tentative contract agreement with each of the Big Three U.S. automakers, putting an end—at least for now—to the union's historic six-week strike that involved nearly 50,000 workers. UAW members still must ratify the agreements, but they are set to return to work during the voting process.
All three of the tentative agreements include 25% wage boosts, nearly three times the size of the 9% raises that GM and Ford offered when contract negotiations began in July. Stellantis initially offered union members a 14.5% raise.
The UAW originally demanded 46% wage increases, citing the automakers' massive profits over the past 10 years and surging CEO pay. Under the Ford and Stellantis deals, many workers would see raises well beyond 25% due to cost-of-living increases.
The UAW's deal with GM comes less than 48 hours after the union launched a surprise expansion of its strike against the major automaker, calling on workers to walk off the job at the company's major Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee.
Last week, GM reported record-breaking third-quarter revenue of $44.1 billion—and the UAW responded by striking at the company's most profitable plant in North America.
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'Our Stand-Up Strike Has Delivered': UAW Wins Historic Tentative Deal With Ford
"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."
Oct 26, 2023
Nearly six weeks into its historic strike against the Big Three U.S. car manufacturers, the United Auto Workers late Wednesday announced a tentative contract deal with Ford that includes significant wage increases and cost-of-living adjustments that were scrapped during the 2008 financial crisis.
In a statement, the UAW's leadership said the gains achieved in the deal amount to four times what workers received in the 2019 contract that recently expired. Ford's original proposal for a new contract included wage increases of just 9% while the union demanded a 46% boost, pointing to the automakers' surging profits over the past decade.
The tentative deal calls for a 25% general wage increase over four years, including an 11% boost in the first year. The UAW said the top wage under the tentative agreement would rise to more than $40 an hour over the life of the contract and the starting wage would jump to over $28 an hour—a 68% increase—thanks to cost-of-living adjustments.
"For months we've said that record profits mean record contracts. And UAW family, our Stand-Up Strike has delivered," said UAW president Shawn Fain. "What started at three plants at midnight on September 15, has become a national movement. We won things nobody thought possible. Since the strike began, Ford put 50% more on the table than when we walked out. 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."
Chuck Browning, the UAW's vice president, said that "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."
The tentative deal must be approved by Ford UAW members, more than 16,000 of whom were on strike as of Wednesday. The union said Ford members will return to work during the ratification process.
Nearly 30,000 Stellantis and General Motors workers will remain on strike as the UAW's negotiations with the companies continue.
"Union democracy means members get to review a historic tentative agreement that has gains that they haven't seen since Walter Reuther," Brandon Mancilla, UAW Region 9A director, wrote on social media. "It's still their call on whether this is good enough. That's what it means for members to both fight and remain the highest authority."
Ford CEO Jim Farley, whose massive 2022 pay package became a topic of scrutiny during contract negotiations, said late Wednesday that he is "pleased to have reached a tentative agreement" with the UAW, which launched strikes at Ford plants in Michigan, Illinois, and Kentucky.
If UAW members approve the contract, low-paid and long-exploited temp workers at Ford will see wage increases of more than 150% over the course of the four-year agreement, the union said. Some workers will see an immediate 85% raise if the contract is ratified.
The tentative deal also improves retirement benefits and eliminates wage tiers that left newer workers with lower pay and worse benefits. Additionally, according to UAW leaders, the agreement "includes a historic right to strike over plant closures, a first for the union."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a top ally of organized labor in Congress, congratulated the UAW on the "historic tentative agreement."
"When workers fight back against corporate greed, they win," Sanders said. "It's time for Stellantis and GM to get serious and negotiate a fair contract for their workers. The American people are watching."
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