UAW workers at GM ratify contract in close vote

- Nathan Bomey, author ofAxios Closer

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.
Go deeper: UAW nabs its biggest win in decades