Here’s Where Ford, GM and Stellantis Stand With Striking Autoworkers on Day 36

Friday marks the 36th day of the rolling, autoworker walkouts and each of the Detroit Three has come closer to reaching a new labor contract with the United Auto Workers union on their own terms.

Roughly 33,600 workers employed by Ford Motor Co., General Motors and Stellantis companies across the U.S. are on strike, or just over 23% of the UAW's 146,000 members working at the three automakers. The UAW is using a new strategy called the "stand-up strike," which allows it to call specific locals to strike against facilities on an as-needed basis and keep the automakers on their toes.

Since strikes first began on Sept. 14, the UAW has accelerated its labor stoppages against each of the Detroit Three. Last Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain revealed the union would be taking a more aggressive stance against the automakers, warning that members could be called to join the picket lines at any time.

Here's where Ford, GM and Stellantis stand on negotiations with the UAW.

The UAW's Demands

Since the UAW first revealed its demands in August, it's made one thing very clear: autoworkers want better, stronger, wages. The union is demanding wage hikes ranging between 30% and 40%, which it argues is fair given the multi-million dollar salaries of the Detroit Three's chief executives.

Autoworkers are also fighting for the restoration of cost-of-living adjustments — or COLA — that were suspended in the wake of the 2007-2008 Financial Crisis and the elimination of the automakers' tiered wage systems.

A number of the UAW's demands are related to helping retirees and workers saving for retirement; the union wants the reestablishment of retiree medical benefits, better pension plans and significant increases to retiree pay

Additionally, the union wants a series of quality-of-life guarantees such as more paid time off and a worker family protection program — which forces companies to pay UAW members to do community service work if plants are shut down. Members also want a new contract to include the right to strike over plant closures.

General Motors' Latest Proposal

GM on Friday afternoon — several hours before Fain is scheduled to give a barraging update to UAW members — revealed its seventh, and latest, "record offer" to the union. The automaker is offering a 23% general wage increase, with a 10% wage hike within the first year; UAW-represented members at the company will earn $40.39 per hour, or about $84,000 annually, by the end of the four-year contract.

In the past, the UAW has criticized GM's offers regarding COLA as "deficient." However, the automaker's latest offer restores COLA for "seniority team members," which is projected to boost wage hikes to reach over 30% by Sept. 2027. All autoworkers will also receive an unspecified ratification bonus, according to GM.

The company is also offering a series of concessions that will boost GM's contributions for retirement plans, health care — for both current members and retirees — and pensions. The automaker has also raised temporary workers' wages by 26% to $21 per hour, reduced the time it takes for workers to work their way up to the top of its tiered waged system and enabled profit sharing for some temporary workers.

GM has also made a concession that no other automaker has: it's agreed to include workers at electric vehicle battery plants under its master contract with the UAW.

The company made the concession — which it previously had said wasn't feasible — to narrowly avoid a strike at its Arlington Assembly Plant in Texas, on Oct. 6. The UAW has made winning job security at EV battery plants a central part of its latest round of negotiations with the Detroit Three.

Ford Motor's Latest Proposal

Ford's latest and "strongest" offer would provide a ratification bonus for all workers and raise wages for permanent employees by more than 20%, along with a series of retirement and healthcare benefits, the company said. Ford is also offering to raise the pay for temporary workers by 26% and include those workers in profit sharing; previous contracts had only included the company's permanent workers in profit sharing.

The company's offer also includes a series of concessions to the UAW that were revealed in earlier announcements, including the return of the suspended COLA formula, an elimination of tiers in Ford's wage progression system and a reduction of the time it takes to earn the highest wage rate.

Ford has also agreed to give the UAW the right to strike over plant closures.

“We want to make sure our workers come out of these negotiations with two things — a record contract and a strong future,” Ford CEO Jim Farley said at the time. “We’ve put an offer on the table that will be costly for the company, especially given our large American footprint and UAW workforce, but one that we believe still allows Ford to invest in the future.”  

Ford has also accused the UAW of holding negotiations "hostage" over four EV battery plants that are currently under constriction. The automaker's failure to present a new tentative proposal to the UAW last week spurred Fain to announce a surprise strike against Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant, which generates $25 billion in revenue for the company each year and is closely connected to 11 other facilities.

Stellantis' Latest Proposal

Chrysler-parent Stellantis has offered a 21.4% compounded wage increase and agreed to eliminate wage tiers at its Mopar parts distribution center. The automaker has also reduced the time to progress through its wage progression system to four years from eight years; a previous offer had shortened the system by just two years. Additionally, the company said it has made "significant improvements" to the company's 401(k) contribution plans for in-progress employees.

Stellantis has said it made a new proposal regarding COLA on Sept. 29, however, it has not publicly confirmed details of the new formula. A previous COLA offer would have paid employees should inflation rise above 3%.

The automaker has also agreed to wage wages for temporary workers to $20 an hour and allow UAW members to strike over plant closures.

"The discussions between Stellantis and the UAW are focused on narrowing the gaps on issues that will bring immediate financial gains and job security for our employees while providing a bridge for the sustainability of the Company," Stellantis said earlier this month.