The United Auto Workers (UAW) reached a tentative labor deal with Chrysler owner Stellantis on Saturday, two sources said, moving closer to securing record wage hikes and a new life for a Jeep factory shut down earlier this year.
The tentative deal is a big step towards ending the first simultaneous strike against the so-called “Detroit Three” automakers, and will follow a template set just days ago by UAW and Ford, including a 25% wage hike over the 4.5-year-long contract.
General Motors (GM) and UAW negotiators reconvened on Saturday after working into the early hours of the morning, two people familiar with the situation said. GM has agreed to the same range of hikes and talks are focusing on other matters.
A public deal announcement with Stellantis is expected later on Saturday afternoon or early evening, the sources said. Strikes, which included historic walkouts, have entered week seven.
Stellantis shuttered its assembly plant in Belvidere, Illinois, early this year, leaving 1,300 workers without jobs.
The factory closure, which became a rallying cry for the union’s bargaining campaign, will reopen contingent on expected state and local tax incentives, the sources said.
The UAW’s president, Shawn Fain, had vowed to reverse the closure. The Biden administration and the state of Illinois have offered subsidies that could help retool the factory. Illinois acquired 170 acres of land adjacent to the assembly plant.
The tentative contract deal will have provisions on the use of temporary workers, the sources said, adding Stellantis has agreed to significant investment.
Fain and other senior union leaders are briefing local UAW chiefs by video conference, the sources said.
The deal is also expected to include investments in other US plants, including the Trenton engine plant, the sources said.
The Trenton complex, located south of Detroit, built six-cylinder engines. Some of the facilities date back to 1952.
About 45,000 workers out of nearly 150,000 union members at the Detroit Three eventually joined the strike, which has cost billions of dollars to the industry.
Ford Motor Company and the negotiators of the UAW union reached a labor deal on Wednesday, pending union leadership approval.
That deal was the first tentative settlement of strikes against Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, which makes Chrysler and Jeep models.
More than 45,000 union members working at the Detroit three automakers have joined historic walkouts that began on 15 September.
Fain repeatedly accused the Detroit Three automakers of enriching executives and investors while neglecting workers, and said the UAW’s success would help blue-collar workers throughout the country.
The Detroit automakers argued that the UAW’s demands would significantly raise costs and put them at a disadvantage compared with EV leader Tesla and foreign brands such as Toyota Motor, which are non-unionized.
Reuters contributed reporting
