DETROIT (AP) — A tentative agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union appears to be on the verge of being rejected.
The union has not yet released the vote total, but staff at five primary factories that finished voting in recent days rejected the four-year, eight-month deal by wide margins.
Tracking the votes on the UAW’s online page shows the deal won with 686 votes. But those totals don’t include votes from GM’s assembly plants in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Lansing Delta Township and Lansing Grand River in Michigan, as well as a powertrain plant in Toledo, Ohio, voted against the deal, according to local union officials.
In most cases, votes against the contract ranged from 55% to around 60%.
Workers were waiting for totals from a rally plant in Arlington, Texas, but many said they expected the contract to be rejected.
A message was left seeking comment from the union spokesperson.
It’s unclear exactly what will happen next, but local union leaders don’t expect an immediate strike once the final totals are known.
Voting continues at Ford, where the deal is in the process of being approved with 66. 1% in favor so far, with some primary plants still counting.
The contract was approved by an overwhelming majority in early voting at Jeep maker Stellantis. Union vote tracking shows 79. 7% voted in favor, while many giant plants are yet to be completed.
Local union leaders say the old staff were dissatisfied that they had not received bigger pay rises than the new staff and were seeking a further increase in their pensions. The new hires were looking for a retirement plan with explained benefits from the 401(K) plan they currently have.
Tony Totty, president of the local union of the Toledo plant, said that the environment is right to ask more from the company. “We have to enjoy the moment,” he said. “Who knows what the next environment will be for national agreements. ” Companies are never challenged to tell us that we have to make concessions in times of economic crisis. Why shouldn’t we get the most productive economic deal when the economy is doing well?
Thousands of UAW members joined picket lines in targeted actions against Detroit automakers for six weeks before overdue tentative agreements were reached last month. Instead of striking against one company, the union targeted individual plants at the three automakers. At its peak last year a month, about 46,000 of Detroit’s 146,000 corporate union employees were picketing.