Despite the prospect of significant pay increases, a growing number of rank-and-file autoworkers are voting against the deals with Ford and General Motors.
The most recent setbacks occurred in votes at two GM plants, one in Flint, Michigan (a city known as the birthplace of the union), and another in Spring Hill, Tennessee, which manufactures SUVs for Cadillac and GMC. Both plants rejected the deals. Additionally, Ford workers in Louisville, Kentucky, where the company has its largest and most lucrative factories, voted against the agreement.
The Spring Hill plant reported the highest level of opposition, with only 32% of the 2,300 participating members supporting the deal in the ratification vote. Despite the potential for pay increases of 30% or more during the contract’s duration, these rejections highlight the growing dissatisfaction among autoworkers with the proposed agreements.
At the Flint Truck plant, 52% of the 3,400 members voted against the deal. The votes took the overall GM vote down to only 52% voting to ratify so far. the prospect of significant
The Ford vote in Kentucky showed 55% of the members at the Kentucky Truck plant voting against the deal. That plant went on strike with little notice on October 12, about three weeks into the strike that targeted specific plants at the company. Members at Ford’s nearby Louisville Assembly plant who belong to the same union local voted 53% in favor of the deal. The Kentucky local voted against a 2019 contract at Ford by an even larger margin and that contract passed despite its opposition.
While the ratification vote at both companies still has the support of the majority of members, neither vote is large enough at this point to assure passage, especially with some large union locals yet to weigh in.