Source: (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — UAW members at the General Motors plant in Fort Wayne have said “no” to the agreed-upon deal between the national UAW and GM.
The tentative agreement was brokered last month ending a months-long strike by auto workers in several states. The strike never involved any auto workers in Indiana, but it did result in some temporary layoffs.
The UAW Local 2209 in Fort Wayne held a vote among its members on Wednesday, of which 60-percent voted against approval of the deal. That’s been about the same result among workers at five other factories around the U.S. so far.
The tally is still coming in, but the national UAW says they expect the deal to be approved overall nationwide.
Some of the issues that older workers at the GM plant in Fort Wayne have with the deal have to do with their pay and their pensions. The workers feel older workers should get just as big of pay raises as younger workers under the new deal. They feel their pensions should be increased as well.
If the GM deal fails it’s not clear what would happen next. It’s certainly not clear if workers will be told to walk out of the job again.
New contracts with Ford and Stellantis are expected to be approved without any resounding issues.
