Ford workers accept agreement to end UAW strike

The UAW union managed to get Ford workers to ratify the agreement reached with the large automobile companies to end the strike and achieve a series of improvements in pay and working conditions.

Ford workers voted 69.3% in favor of the agreement. The counting of votes ended late between the night of Friday and Saturday. Ford thus joins GM, whose workers narrowly approved a similar deal. At Stellantis, 68.7% of workers voted in favor of ratification of the agreement. Although the agreement was only recently approved, workers at the three big companies already returned to work weeks ago, as part of the terms.

The agreements that were reached will be valid until 2028 and meet a large portion of the union's demands. Weekly working hours are reduced, salaries are increased and the conditions of retirement plans are improved. Along with this, the companies also committed to allowing electric battery production plants into the union. These will be a key product for the future of an industry that has been turning towards electric vehicles for years.

Costs for the sector

The strike lasted nearly six weeks since it began at the end of the summer. The UAW union strikes began on Friday, Sept. 15, and each week the stakes and the intensity of the stoppages at key plants increased.

The three automakers declared millions in losses as a result of the work stoppage. Now they will also have to face increases in wage costs. John Lawler, Ford's chief financial officer, told the AP that the deal would increase those costs by $850 to $900 per vehicle. All three companies said they had already cut other costs in preparation for the deals with the UAW.