Some 200 local union leaders Thursday morning are reviewing the details of a proposed tentative agreement that the United Auto Workers reached with General Motors Co. Wednesday.
The more than 48,000 GM-UAW employees, including 17,000 in Michigan, have been off the job for 32 days — the longest national strike against GM since 1970.
Here is what we know so far:
What does the proposed tentative agreement include?
The United Automobiles Workers’ four-year proposed tentative agreement with General Motors Co. would give temporary employees a path to fully-vested employment, would not change healthcare plans, would eliminate the cap on profit sharing, would give wage increases or bonuses in each year of the contract and would offer a record ratification bonus, according to a union contract summary.
What does the proposed tentative agreement say about pay?
The deal includes 3% base-wage increases in years two and four, and 4% lump-sum bonuses in the other two years. Those wage increases would raise top-paid production employees’ pay to about $32.32, up from $30.46.
Permanent employees not making top wages — known as in-progression workers — hired before the effective date of the 2019 agreement would be eligible for top pay by the end of the four years of the contract, which halves the current time window.
The agreement also includes ratification bonuses of $11,000, up from $8,000 in 2015, for permanent employees. Temporary employees would receive a bonus of $4,500 upon ratification. A $12,000 cap on profit-sharing also is eliminated, and permanent employees will continue to receive $1,000 for every $1 billion in pre-tax earnings GM makes in North America.
Top seniority employees who receive pensions also will receive a one-time contribution of $1,000. Additionally, up to 2,000 legacy production employees and up to 60 skilled trades members will have an early retirement option between Dec. 31 and Feb. 28, 2020. They would receive a gross cash payment of $60,000.
What does the proposed tentative agreement say about job security and plant closures?
The UAW’s summary of the proposed tentative agreement does not include an investment or job commitment by GM. In details of an offer to the UAW the company had made public last month, GM had promised an investment of $7 billion and more than 5,400 jobs — a number it later increased to $9 billion in investment creating 9,000 jobs. The 2015 contract included an $8.3 billion commitment.
Under the agreement, full-time temporary employees who have worked three or more years would be hired permanently starting Jan. 6 — a priority demand from the UAW and many members. Part-time temps who have worked at least two continuous years would become regular employees starting Jan. 1, 2020. Temporary employees working at least one year also will be eligible for paid and unpaid time off.
The agreement confirms the wind-down of three plants identified last November for closure. Those plants include Lordstown Assembly in northeast Ohio, Baltimore Operations in Maryland and Warren Transmission in southeast Michigan — all of which stopped operating earlier this year. Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly, which was slated to stop production in January, would continue to operate, building a new electric truck. A customer care and aftersales plant in Fontana, California, also would close during the term of the agreement.
Additionally, the agreement dissolves the GM Center for Human Resources, a jointly operated training center with the union that is funded by the automaker. The decision, first reported by The Detroit News, comes after a federal corruption investigation has found officials misused the funds for bribes and defraud workers, according to prosecutors. The existing building overlooking the Detroit River will be sold.
What does the proposed tentative agreement say about health care?
The deal preserves health insurance benefits without increases to out-of-pocket costs. That means zero premiums and zero deductibles and a co-pay cap expected to average $700 per year for permanent employees. Hourly UAW-GM employees pay about 3% of their total health care costs.
When will the strike end?
That is unclear. About 200 local union leaders making up the UAW-GM national council are convening Thursday in Detroit. If they vote to make the deal a tentative agreement and send it to the membership, they also will decide whether to end the strike immediately or upon ratification, which could take another two weeks for the members to review the changes and vote. If the council is not confident a majority of members will vote to ratify the contract, they could vote to continue the strike, experts said.
More: UAW-GM contract offers $11,000 bonus, pay raises, no change in health care
What happens if the tentative agreement does not receive approval from the GM council or the membership?
If the tentative agreement does not receive approval from the GM council or a majority of voting members’ support, then it is back to the drawing board for GM negotiators and the UAW’s GM bargaining committee to hammer out a deal on the objections members raised.
The union also potentially could switch to Ford Motor Co. or Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV to reach a deal if it feels it could make better progress there. Talks within subcommittees between the union and those companies have made progress, according to the union, and most had gotten to a point where they are waiting for GM to set the pattern. If the work stoppage at GM continues, however, such a decision could be devastating to the Detroit automaker and its employees on strike, experts said.
What is the likelihood members will ratify a contract?
After more than a month on the picket lines, many UAW members say their pocketbooks are hurting, they are tired and they are ready to get back to work, but they also are determined to get what they consider is a fair share of the billions in profits GM has posted over the past several years. The union and its members have said health care, wages, job security and securing a pathway for temporary workers to reach permanent seniority are some of their top priorities. Former employees at Lordstown Assembly showed up in force Thursday at the Renaissance Center to express their dissatisfaction over the planned closure of the Ohio plant.
When will GM employees on strike get their next paycheck?
UAW members on strike will get their next paycheck the Friday after they return to their jobs and work a week. Members who show up for picket duty, however, do receive strike pay of up to $275 per week; the next checks will be distributed starting Monday. GM is continuing to pay for health care benefits.
More: UAW membership relieved for a deal, ready to get back to work
What does a proposed tentative agreement mean for GM?
Because of the strike, analysts and economists estimate GM has lost more than $1.5 billion to more than $2 billion in profits. They also forecast the work stoppage may be affecting the availability of vehicle trims and colors on dealer lots — and therefore affecting sales. The automaker will want the strike to come to an end as soon as possible. It will develop a contract implementation plan during the ratification process.
What about other affected workers?
The work stoppage at GM has reverberated up the supply chain, affecting thousands of employees. East Lansing’s Anderson Economic Group estimates some 175,000 employees have been directly affected and have lost $624 million in wages from the month-long strike. GM itself has had to furlough more than 10,000 non-UAW employees in Canada, Mexico and Ohio.
For now, the work stoppage is ongoing, though if the UAW-GM national council sends a tentative agreement to the membership and votes to end the strike, employees at GM suppliers could be returning to work soon. A ratified contract, however, is not guaranteed.
bnoble@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @BreanaCNoble
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