GM and UAW reach tentative agreement to end month-long strike
The United Auto Workers announced a tentative agreement with General Motors on Wednesday to end the GM autoworkers strike that has lasted longer than a month.
"The number one priority of the national negotiation team has been to secure a strong and fair contract that our members deserve,” Terry Dittes, vice president of UAW's GM Department, said in a statement. "Out of respect for our members, we will refrain from commenting on the details until the UAW GM leaders gather together and receive all details."
Shares of GM closed higher on the news.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 55.49 | +0.70 | +1.29% |
"We can confirm the UAW’s statement regarding a proposed tentative agreement. Additional details will be provided at the appropriate time," GM told FOX Business in a statement.
FOX Business has also learned that President Trump's top trade advisor Peter Navarro helped bring the two sides together.
Local union leaders will vote on the deal Thursday and determine whether to end the strike. Then nearly 50,000 rank-and-file members will vote on the agreement. Usually, once a tentative agreement is reached, workers head back to the job since the ratification vote takes a couple of weeks. The strike is not technically over, but this is a positive sign.
"Another thing to keep an eye on is what [UAW members] might be doing once they reach a tentative agreement. Will they go back to work immediately or stay out?" Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research told FOX Business.
DETROIT, MI - JULY 16: General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra speaks while and United Auto Workers President Gary Jones (right) listens before they open the 2019 GM-UAW contract talks with the traditional ceremonial handshake on July 16, 2019 in
"This council could vote to stay out on strike while they consider ratification. That is an extra measure of caution just in case members vote this down," she said, adding that UAW Fiat Chrysler Automobiles employees voted one down in 2015.
Both parties had been in negotiations stretching into nights and weekends. The union called for a strike starting Sept. 15 after expressing discontent with GM's profit-sharing formula, production of vehicles in Mexico, a potential change in health care cost-sharing and pathways for temporary workers.
Local UAW chapter leaders have been summoned to Detroit for a meeting on Thursday, FOX Business confirmed on Monday. The meeting was expected to center on a tentative agreement.
Both GM's and UAW's headquarters are in Detroit.
The strike cost GM $1.5 billion in lost profits, and employees won't see more than $835 million in direct wage losses, according to numbers released on Wednesday by Michigan-based consulting firm Anderson Economic Group. Their calculations extrapolate to Oct. 20.
GM autoworkers have been holding out on $250 a week in strike pay. The UAW board voted on Saturday to bump up workers' strike pay by $25 a week and allow them to take part-time jobs and still qualify for the benefit.
FOX Business' Ken Martin, Grady Trimble and Brittany De Lea contributed to this report.