Members of the United Auto Workers union have voted in favor of a new contract that might put an end to a protracted labor battle and a string of severe strikes. This makes General Motors the first Detroit automaker to have a ratified deal.

The contract was approved by little more than 3,400 votes, or 54.7 percent of the total, according to a vote-tracking spreadsheet on the union's website, which is updated when all local union offices report.

(Photo : Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Members of the United Auto Workers union have voted in favor of a new contract that might put an end to a protracted labor battle and a string of severe strikes.

The official GM totals were there in the spreadsheet, a union spokeswoman verified on Thursday.al quarter decreased by 60% to $249 million.

Following the results announcement, the price of Lenovo shares dropped by 2.86 percent in early afternoon trading in Hong Kong, while the benchmark index fell by 1.42 percent.

Mixed Results and Anticipation as UAW Celebrates Recent Victories

After the UAW celebrated victory last month on many important demands, which sparked six weeks of deliberate walkouts against GM, Ford, and Stellantis, the manufacturer of Jeep and Ram cars, the result was closer than anticipated.

Voting on the deal at Ford and Stellantis on Thursday was heavily in favor of it. At Ford, ratification was ahead by almost 10,000 votes, with 66.7 percent of the vote casting ballots in favor. According to the UAW website, the lead at Stellantis was over 5,700, and 66.5 percent of voters supported the agreement.

Only two major plants in the Detroit region and a few smaller facilities remain to be tabulated when voting at Ford ends early on Saturday. Three big facilities in the Detroit region were the only ones at Stellantis that have not yet cast their votes; tallies are anticipated to be finished by Tuesday.

If the three contracts are ratified by 146,000 union members, autoworkers' income would grow significantly-a 33 percent salary gain would result from hikes and cost-of-living adjustments. High-performing assembly plant employees would receive 11 percent increases immediately and be paid around $42 per hour when their contracts expire in April 2028.

Approximately 36,000 of GM's 46,000 employees who were entitled to vote on the agreement actually did so.

Only employees at a major SUV facility in Arlington, Texas, out of the four GM facilities that went on strike, agreed to the deal. Employees in Lansing Delta Township, Michigan; Wentzville, Missouri; and Spring Hill, Tennessee, voted against it.

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Wage Discontent and Pension Demands Amidst GM's Diverse Workforce

Employees expressed dissatisfaction with long-term GM employees' lack of wage hikes compared to those of younger employees and demanded a higher pension boost.

Defined benefit pension plans were preferred by many recent workers over defined contribution plans. Instead, the businesses decided to make yearly contributions of 10% to 401(k) plans.

The workforce at GM's Arlington facility is varied, ranging from full- and part-time temporary hires to long-term assembly line workers, according to Keith Crowell, the local union president. According to him, full-time temporary employees enjoyed their significant salary increases and the opportunity to earn top union pay.

However, he noted that many long-time employees didn't believe that the recent wage increases would be sufficient to make up for the 2008 concessions made to GM.

Before the provisional agreements were struck late last month, thousands of UAW members began to join picket lines in targeted strikes that began on September 15. The union chose to strike against specific plants at each of the three automakers rather than just one. Approximately 46,000 workers were walking picket lines at the height of the strikes.

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