Stellantis and the union agree on a tentative salary increase during the UAW strike

 Stellantis and the union agree on a tentative salary increase during the UAW strike

To put an end to a six-week strike, Chrysler manufacturer Stellantis and the United Auto Workers union have reached a preliminary compensation agreement.

The agreement comes after a comparable one was reached with Ford last week; it still has to be ratified by union officials and members.

For the first time in its existence, the UAW launched strikes against GM, Ford, and Stellantis simultaneously in September.

It is escalating proceedings against the company and has not yet reached a settlement with GM.

The majority of workers' pay will increase by 25% over the next 4.5 years as a result of the deal reached between the UAW and Stellantis.

Additionally, the union promised that throughout the duration of the agreement, the earnings of Stellantis' lowest-paid employees will increase by more than 165%.

According to the union, Stellantis employees will resume work once the agreement is confirmed.

"We have accomplished what was said to be impossible only a few weeks ago," said Shawn Fain, president of UAW.

The agreement would allow Stellantis to restart an assembly factory in Belvidere, Illinois, which had shuttered earlier this year, according to the union.

The automaker has also consented, according to the UAW, to construct a new battery facility next to the current Belvidere factory.

UAW vice president Rich Boyer stated that "Eight months ago, Stellantis idled Belvidere Manufacturing Plant, putting 1,200 of our members on the street."

Our striking power is helping us restore those jobs and more. In addition to restoring the facility, Stellantis is creating over 1,000 new employment at a new battery factory in Belvidere."

Mark Stewart, chief operating officer of Stellantis North America, stated: "I want to express my gratitude to all of the negotiation teams who have put in many hours over several weeks to get this far.

"We look forward to returning our 43,000 employees back to work as well as resuming operations."

The accord was praised by US President Joe Biden.

"I applaud the UAW and Stellantis Automotive for coming together shortly after hard-fought, good-faith negotiations in order to reach a historic agreement that will guarantee employees the pay, benefits, respect, and dignity that they deserve," he stated in a press release.

GM behavior

The UAW has not yet secured a deal with General Motors, despite having preliminary deals with Ford and Stellantis to terminate the strike action.

The union said on Saturday that it will expand its walkout against GM to include the Spring Hill, Tennessee, facility.

"We are disappointed by GM's unjustified and irresponsible refusal of to consent to a fair agreement," Mr. Fain of the UAW said.

"We were hurt by the UAW's action in light of the progress we have executed?" GM said in a statement.

"We have continued to deal in good faith with the UAW, and our goal remained to reach an agreement as quickly as possible."

GM said last week that it anticipated losing around $200 million (£164 million) per week as a result of the strikes.

The business also removed its profit projections for the year, stating that it was impossible to estimate when the standoff would end. However, it did note that it had proposed a "record" deal in an attempt to mediate the conflict.