United Auto Workers members at the region’s two General Motors plants will speak this week about the union’s tentative deal with the automaker.
Members of UAW Local 774 at the GM Town of Tonawanda Engine Plant are scheduled to vote Monday, while members of Local 686 at the Lockport Components Plant will vote Wednesday.
UAW members at the two local GM plants will vote on a tentative deal this week.
Joseph Cooke/Buffalo News
Corporate-wide, the UAW has approximately 46,000 members at GM facilities. This number includes approximately 1,400 members at the Lockport facility and 753 members at the Tonawanda facility.
The UAW struck at select GM, Ford and Stellantis plants for about six weeks before reaching tentative agreements with the automakers in late October. UAW members at GM and Ford plants in the Buffalo Niagara region were not asked to join the strike.
In order for the agreements to come into force, they still need to be ratified. If approved, the UAW contracts with the Detroit Three would run through April 2028.
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General Motors has pledged to invest $300 million in its Tonawanda plant.
Derek Gee/Buffalo News
GM’s tentative deal with the UAW includes the automaker’s commitment to invest $300 million in the Tonawanda engine plant to produce powertrains for electric vehicles. This investment would provide the Tonawanda plant, which produces internal combustion engines, with a clear link to GM’s electric vehicle future, as GM aims to build an all-electric fleet by 2035.
GM did not commit to additional investment in the Lockport plant as part of the tentative agreement. However, the automaker confirmed a previously announced $154 million investment in the site, which would include the production of stator modules for electric vehicles.
General Motors confirmed a $154 million investment in its Lockport plant.
Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
Meanwhile, UAW members at Ford plants are scheduled to vote Friday on the tentative deal with their employer. The UAW has around 56,000 members in the Ford plants, including 749 in the press plant in Hamburg.
The workers at the Ford press plant in Hamburg voted by a large majority in favor of the deal. Automotive News reported that production workers at the plant voted 288-82 in favor, while skilled workers voted 183-45 in favor. Ford has agreed to invest $80 million in the Hamburg plant as part of the agreement, including for the production of stampings for electric vehicles.
As of Sunday, 69% of production workers and 82% of skilled workers at Ford plants had voted in favor of the deal, and more locals have not yet voted or announced their results, according to Automotive News’ vote tracker.
In 2019, a majority of UAW members at the Tonawanda and Lockport plants voted against a tentative deal with GM, but the deal still passed nationally. Four years ago, a majority of members in the Hamburg press shop voted in favor of the deal with Ford.
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