UAW Local 598 president Ryan Buchalski discusses tentative deal with General Motors to end strike. Ryan Garza, Detroit Free Press


Here's what the Free Press has been able to learn about details of the UAW's proposed tentative agreement with General Motors. 

The agreement will include pay raises, a ratification bonus of at least $9,000, promises by GM to create or retain 9,000 jobs over the next four years, a path for temporary workers to become permanent and other elements. 

GM had said during the strike that it had agreed to not increase workers' health care costs, locking in some of the best health benefits in the nation. 

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How long has the UAW been on strike against GM?

The strike began at 12:01 a.m. Sept. 16; the proposed tentative agreement was reached on the 31st day of the strike. The strike isn't over — the union's National GM Council will vote on the proposal Thursday and will decide whether to leave workers on strike until they vote to ratify the deal. 


Profit sharing: U.S. hourly workers get $1,000 in profit sharing for each $1 billion the company reports in pretax earnings. That had been capped at $12,000, but the Free Press reported that the cap was removed in these talks. 

Ratification bonus: Workers will receive at least $9,000 upon ratification, though the precise amount is not known.

Plant investments and job protection: GM will make investments in U.S. manufacturing that would result in 9,000 jobs retained and created. The dollar amount of the promised investment was not known. 

The company initially said it offered $7 billion in U.S. investment over the next four years that would lead to 5,400 jobs, some of which would have been with joint ventures that would have separate contracts and likely pay less than GM jobs. 

Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant will remain open. The plant will build an electric pickup, but it is unclear how many jobs it would create or retain. 

Vacation. Newer union workers who currently get only two weeks' vacation a year will be able to take one of those weeks at a time of their choosing. In the previous contract, these employees were required to take both paid vacation weeks during scheduled plant shutdowns. Under the proposal, the second week of a plant shutdown would be considered a layoff and the workers could qualify for unemployment. 


The union during the recession a decade ago agreed to expanded hiring of temps by GM, Ford and what then was Chrysler. Those union workers, who make up 7-10% of GM's workforce over the course of the year, are paid $15-19 an hour with no profit sharing, no paid time off, no retirement plan and no job protection. They can get health coverage, but it covers less and costs them more than permanent workers' plan.

GM pushed the ability to hire more temps to save costs and be able to quickly reduce the workforce in case of a market downturn. The UAW wanted to equalize pay and benefits for temps, give them profit sharing and a create path to permanent employment. Similarly, it wanted to even out pay for workers hired after 2007, who start at $17 an hour and can reach $28 after eight years. 

Health care: GM is self-insured and spends $900 million a year on hourly workers' care. UAW members pay just 3% of their costs, compared with 28% for the average U.S. worker. Autoworkers argue that their jobs are physically taxing and can lead to chronic injury early in life, so the health coverage is essential. 

GM initially proposed that autoworkers' share of their health costs rise to 15%, but backed down, letting UAW members retain that premier coverage as the company pressed its points on temps and other issues. 

More: GM, UAW reach proposed tentative agreement; strike continues

More: A UAW-GM deal could bring big bonus, raise. Here's what to do with the money

Pay: Autoworkers' pay has eroded 16% against inflation since 2010, according to the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. The proposal includes increases of 3-4% in wages and lump sum payments. Precise details of the raises were not known. In the 2015 contract, workers got a 3% wage increase on years one and three and 4% lump sum payments on the alternate years.

Here are some key differences between temporary workers, "in-progression" workers and permanent workers, according to the UAW:

  • Temporary workers wages:  $15-$19. 
  • A newly hired permanent production worker, called "in progression," makes about $17 an hour, and can rise to $28 an hour after eight years.
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What happens next

The proposed tentative agreement will be reviewed Thursday by the National Council, nearly 200 union local leaders who meet in Detroit at 10:30 a.m. Thursday. If they approve, what will then formally be a tentative agreement will be submitted to UAW-represented GM employees for ratification. 

The negotiations have been conducted under a cloud cast by a corruption investigation that has led to nine convictions of union and auto officials. Days before the contract expired, regional director Vance Pearson was charged with lavish spending of union money for himself, and court documents in the case implicated UAW President Gary Jones. Pearson was put on leave from his role two weeks into the strike. 

The ratification vote will be a measure of members' trust of their leaders to negotiate a good deal that they must live with for the next four years.

The union chose to negotiation first with GM to create a template that it would next take to Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, whose UAW contracts were extended while the union negotiated with GM. 

All told, the UAW represents 148,000 workers for the three Detroit automakers. 

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