DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union on Friday rejected wage and benefit offers from all three Detroit automakers, raising tensions just six days before a strike deadline for 146,000 employees.
Ford’s counterproposal offered 9% raises over four years, but it also included lump sum payments, while GM’s offered 10% plus lump sums. All three companies offered additional lump sum payments to cover inflation. The proposal by Stellantis also includes a $6,000 one-time inflation protection payment in the first year of the contract and $4,500 in inflation protection payments over the final three years of the contract.
The proposal from Stellantis, which was formed in a 2021 merger of Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA Peugeot, is closer to the union's demands of 46% across-the-board increases over four years, but both sides still are far apart.