© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The GM logo is seen on the facade of the General Motors headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, U.S., March 16, 2021. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook
By David Shepardson
(Reuters) – More than 60% of United Auto Workers union members at General Motors’ (N:) Arlington, Texas assembly plant voted to approve a new labor deal, boosting the odds of passage, in what is the closest vote of the three Detroit automakers.
Voting on the UAW-GM deal has turned into a nail-biter, unlike Ford (NYSE:) and Stellantis (NYSE:), where the union’s negotiated agreement set to run through April 2028 looks like it will pass with comfortable margins.
The UAW’s GM vote tracking site currently shows approval of the contract leading by a 52% to 48% margin with about 22,150 workers having cast votes out of about 46,000 UAW-represented GM workers. That total does not include Arlington, which has about 5,000 UAW members, the most of any GM plant.
Voting ends on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.
The UAW went on strike for more than six weeks against the Detroit 3, seeking better wages, working conditions and cost-of-living adjustments. All three companies agreed to tentative agreements about two weeks ago.
Workers at other GM plants have voted against the deal, including 60% of workers at its Fort Wayne, Indiana truck plant, 53% at its Wentzville, Missouri plant, and 58% of workers at GM’s Lansing Grand River plant.
Other GM plants have yet to vote, including its Lockport, New York plant.
UAW President Shawn Fain told reporters on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that early voting was trending positive. “Early results are very favorable,” he said.
The UAW’s new agreement with GM grants a 25% increase in base wage through April 2028 and will cumulatively raise the top wage by 33%, compounded with estimated cost-of-living adjustments to over $42 an hour.
Currently, about 66% of Ford workers that have voted are in favor of the UAW deal; about 79% of Stellantis workers have so far voted in favor, according to UAW figures.
Automakers were previously slashing costs and navigating a bumpy road to manufacture EVs and catch up with market leader Tesla (NASDAQ:), but lower margins on those vehicles have deterred them from accelerating the move.
GM in October also pulled its full-year profit forecast due to the strike and postponed a $4 billion electric truck plant in Michigan.
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