The United Auto Workers (UAW) has reached tentative labor deals with GM, Ford, and Stellantis. If finalized, the agreements include a 25-percent wage hike over the term of the contract agreement, starting with an initial increase of 11 percent. Also reportedly included are the elimination of lower-pay tiers in certain operations, and a boost in temporary-workers’ pay. In addition, the union won the right to strike over future plant closures—significant for battery and electric-vehicle plants. 

The strike has affected 45,000 union workers and numerous suppliers. The UAW told striking Ford workers to return to their jobs during the finalization of negotiations. UAW leader Shawn Fain said that the contracts will compensate for concessions that the union agreed to when automakers faced bankruptcy in 2008.  

The Detroit automakers have maintained that the UAW contract demands will stall their efforts to convert to electrification—considered crucial to battling climate change—and unfairly puts them at a competitive disadvantage with nonunionized OEMs such as Tesla, Toyota, VW, Hyundai, Subaru and BMW.