Nov 16, 2023 - Business

UAW workers at GM ratify contract in close vote

Workers hold picket signs supporting the UAW strike

Striking UAW workers picket outside GM's Lansing Delta Assembly plant in Michigan last month. Photo: Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

UAW-represented workers at General Motors have approved their settlement with the automaker in a close-call vote following a six-week strike.

Why it matters: The GM ratification vote was much closer than the votes at Ford and Stellantis, where the deals are cruising toward approval.

Driving the news: About 55% of GM UAW workers who cast ballots on the voted yes, while 45% rejected it, according to results posted by the union Thursday.

  • A simple majority was enough to ratify the new contract, which will expire in spring 2028.
  • About 53% of GM's production workers voted yes, while about 64% of its skilled trades voters did the same.

Between the lines: The proposed settlement includes a 25% pay increase over the 4.5 years of the contract, wage hikes for temporary workers, the elimination of a two-tiered wage system, the right to strike over plant closures and the inclusion of joint-venture battery plants in national contracts.

Worth noting: With only a handful of plants left to be counted at Ford and Stellantis, about 67% had voted to accept the deal at each company.

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