Shawn Fain, president of UAW, has praised Stellantis for the advantageous contract obtained by the United Auto Workers, which hasn’t been seen in decades. The new agreement includes substantial wage increases, increased job stability for temporary workers, and $5,000 bonuses that will be paid after the ratification of the new contract.
Stellantis: in the U.S. the initial wage for production operators will increase by 67%, from $18.04 per hour to $30.21
“Our goal is to return to the table in 2028 with a much stronger, more united, and larger union,” Fain stated on Thursday evening during a live Facebook broadcast with union members. “Everything we have achieved with this contract was aimed at preparing us for the challenge of the next contract.”
For now, the benefits are significant. Workers in the automotive group have obtained an unprecedented 25% wage increase, which “exceeds all wage increases obtained by our union in the last 22 years.” Adding the cost-of-living increases negotiated by the union for both permanent and temporary employees, by the end of the 4.5-year contract, workers will earn 33% more than they do now.
The initial wage for production operators will increase by 67%, from $18.04 per hour to $30.21. Adding the cost-of-living increases, the highest wages will rise from $31.77 per hour to $42.24. The highest-paid temporary workers at Stellantis will see the biggest wage increases. Hourly pay will rise from $15.78 to over $42. Once the contract is ratified by union members, thousands of temporary workers will be immediately converted to full-time status. The remaining temporary workers will be converted after nine months of work.
All UAW members will receive a ratification bonus of $5,000. Fain has stated that Stellantis has also agreed that current UAW members who move to work in a new electric vehicle plant will retain their wages, benefits, and seniority. For the first time for the union, UAW members will have access to the same Stellantis car lease program offered to its executives.
Union workers who have worked for Stellantis for two years will be offered significant discounts on Stellantis vehicle leases, including unlimited mileage and new vehicles every year. On Thursday, Fain reiterated what he had said several times during the UAW strike against Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis: that he will take the union battle to non-unionized companies like Toyota, which announced this week that it is giving 9% raises to its employees.
The details of the contract with Stellantis come four days after the UAW announced that the two parties had reached a tentative agreement to end the nearly six-week strike. It also comes on the same day when 81% of workers at a Ford assembly plant in Michigan voted to ratify the new contract reached last week. The Ford factory was among the first to be affected by the UAW strike after the union’s previous four-year contract expired in mid-September. The new Ford contract includes a 25% wage increase over 4.5 years, cost-of-living adjustments, annual bonuses for retirees, and other benefits.
Voting among unionized Ford workers will continue until November 17. The dates of voting among GM and Stellantis UAW workers are not known. Approximately 46,000 out of 146,000 UAW members had gone on strike in assembly plants and component distribution centers across the country before agreements were reached. Stellantis stated last week that it lost $3.2 billion due to the strike, while Ford reported a loss of $1.3 billion, and GM lost $800 million.