GM Reveals More Generous Proposal to UAW, Less Than 9 Hours Before Contract Expires

General Motors has published its latest economic proposal for United Auto Workers members, with hours to go before autoworkers may begin strikes against the Big Three automakers.

If GM, Ford Motor Company and Stellantis are unable to reach tentative agreements with the UAW before midnight, select union chapters will begin striking the automakers' facilities on Friday morning. While negotiations have been largely successful over non-economic issues, such as basic quality of life increases, debates over economic issues are expected to rage well into Thursday night.

General Motors' latest offer includes a litany of concessions that were not included in its previous offers. For starters, the automaker is proposing a 20% wage increase over the life of the four-year contract and cost-of-living protections included for some autoworkers. The company's first proposal, which was quickly blasted by the UAW as "insulting," offered a smaller 16% wage increase.

Notably, the automaker is offering a $500 payment to retirees, $1,000 to an active employee-defined benefit program and a 25% increase to the healthcare plan offered to retirees. Pay for retirees has been a hot-button issue for the UAW, which has requested significant raises for retired autoworkers. Its president, Shawn Fain, said Wednesday that all of his requests for retiree pay increases have been rejected by the automakers.

"We've worked days, nights, and weekends since receiving the UAW's demands," GM CEO Mary Barra said Thursday. "We have been bargaining in good faith to deliver a better package with historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments, recognizing your contributions to our company—past, present, and future."

Barra and GM have been under increased scrutiny over the last few weeks after Fain filed complaints with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that both GM and Stellantis have refused to negotiate in good faith. The CEO has been a personal favorite target of Fain's for her $29.9 million salary, according to the Detroit Free Press.

"[A] newly hired battery worker at Ultium Sales in Lordstown, Ohio is making $16.50 an hour," UAW President Shawn Fain said last month. "That means a newly hired Ultium worker would have to work full-time for 16 years to earn what Mary Barra makes in a single week."

None of the automakers have been able to match the UAW's demands, which Fain has admitted are "audacious." 

The union is demanding a wage increase between 36% and 46% over the length of a four-year contract, the elimination of the automakers' two-tier wage systems and a 32-hour work week. The UAW is also asking for better retirement benefits, limits on hiring temporary workers and various quality-of-life increases.

While Fain revealed Wednesday night that all three automakers have improved their offers, they still fall short of the union's demands. Ford is also offering a 20% wage increase, while Stellantis has proposed a smaller 17.5% wage hike.

All three automakers have proposed cutting the time it takes for employees to reach the highest-paid tier in the wage system by half, from eight years to four. Previous offers from each automaker had cut just two years from the system.