U.A.W. Announces Tentative Contract Deal with G.M.

Veteran workers are guaranteed pensions in retirement. In-progression and temporary workers have 401(k) accounts to which they contribute.

Robin Sweet, an employee at a Ford Ranger plant in Wayne, Mich., said workers were upset at both the automakers and the union for not doing more to make them whole after the concessions made during the last downturn. “We want that money back in our pay,” Ms. Sweet said in a text message.

The agreement with G.M., even if followed by accords with Ford and Fiat Chrysler, won’t end the strain on the U.A.W. president, Gary Jones, and several of his top lieutenants. A federal criminal investigation has yielded corruption charges against several union officials over the last four years, including a union vice president who was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

The scandal “is concerning to the membership,” said Kristin Dziczek, vice president for industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research. “It’s cast a shadow, and hangs over the union, and appears to ensnare high-ranking officials.”

The G.M. strike was the latest push by labor for a larger share of the billions of dollars in wealth created as the United States recovered from the recession of a decade ago.

On Saturday, about 3,600 U.A.W. members went on strike at Mack Truck plants in three states, demanding better wages and benefits.

Last year, teachers in West Virginia, Oklahoma, and North Carolina secured better working conditions after walking off the job. And grocery workers in Southern California narrowly averted a strike this month when the United Food and Commercial Workers union reached a deal with several California supermarkets. The new contract includes wage increases totaling $1.55 to $1.65 an hour over three years, as well as improved health care benefits and pension contributions.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/16/business/gm-uaw-strike.html?emc=rss&partner=rss