The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has reached a tentative agreement with Stellantis, the company behind Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, and Jeep brands, according to an announcement by the UAW. However, no deal has been reached with General Motors (GM), leading the UAW to expand the strike. Approximately 4,000 GM factory workers in Tennessee have joined the strike. The expanded strike is an effort by the UAW to increase pressure on the Big Three automakers. The tentative agreement with Stellantis means that the 14,600 UAW members currently on strike will be returning to work within days, although it will still take weeks for the ratification process to be completed.
The details of the tentative agreement with Stellantis are not yet known, but it is expected to include significant pay raises and benefits increases for UAW members. The deal is similar to the one reached with Ford earlier in the week. The Stellantis agreement also includes the reopening of a plant in Belvidere, Illinois, which had been closed in February, putting 1,200 workers out of work. This unexpected move has been hailed as a victory for the union. If agreements with all three automakers are reached and ratified, it would bring an end to the longest autoworkers strike in 25 years.
Despite the tentative agreements with Stellantis and Ford, the UAW has not reached a deal with GM. The expanded strike is meant to put pressure on GM to quickly reach an agreement with the union. GM has reported significant losses due to the strike, including $200 million in the first two weeks of the strike and an additional $600 million in the following three weeks. The strike is expected to cause further losses for both GM and Stellantis in the coming weeks. The ratification process for the agreements with Ford and Stellantis is set to begin soon, and union members will not return to work until the agreements are ratified.
