PARMA, Ohio — The United Auto Workers strike is suspended.
President Shawn Fain announced the move Monday afternoon as the union reached a tentative agreement with General Motors following deals made with Stellantis on Saturday and Ford on Wednesday.
"We were relentless in our fight to win a record contract and that is exactly what we accomplished," Fain said in a video posted to social media.
He shared some of the GM contract details:
- Starting wages for assembly workers will increase roughly 70%, with the estimated cost of living from $18 an hour to more than $30 an hour.
- Top wages will jump nearly 33% from $32.32 to $42.95 per hour
"This shows that if you stand together with your brothers and sisters and let your voice be heard and you fight for something that you deserve, it could happen," Dan Schwartz told 3News.
Schwartz is the president of UAW Local 1005, representing workers at the GM Parma Metal Center. While the plant never officially joined the strike, more than 200 of its workers were temporarily laid off due to decreased production where walkouts occurred.
Schwartz says he's waiting to see the full contract, but stresses there's a lot more to it than just the numbers.
"The cost-of-living allowance, the right to strike for plant closures, keeping those battery plants as our work under our master agreement, and hopefully stuff in there for the retirees in the future," he explained.
He highlighted the significance of the U.S. battery plants joining the union and it's effect on the industry's future.
"It's been forecasted that the battery plants were going to be a 40% labor reduction because of not having internal combustion engines and power train," he said.
GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra released this statement Monday afternoon:
"GM is pleased to have reached a tentative agreement with the UAW that reflects the contributions of the team while enabling us to continue to invest in our future and provide good jobs in the U.S. We are looking forward to having everyone back to work across all of our operations, delivering great products for our customers, and winning as one team."
Schwartz told WKYC he and the local bargaining chairman will go to Detroit on Friday alongside other local union leaders to hear more about this contract and vote on it. If that vote passes, they'll bring it back and have informational meetings to share details with local members before they vote.
With the strike suspended, members are waiting for word from the UAW on when they can get back to work. The majority of striking or laid off Ford employees returned to their jobs Monday, but the nearly 400 laid off at the Cleveland Engine Plant in Brook Park did not.