UAW Members at GM's Flint Plant Reject Proposed Contract Despite Record Pay Increases

Flint Plant's Rejection of Contract Reflects Broader Dissatisfaction Among UAW Members, Threatening to Derail Tentative Labor Deals with Detroit's Big Three Automakers

Despite record pay increases, UAW Local 598, representing workers at a General Motors truck plant in Flint, Michigan, reported that 51.8% of its members voted to reject the proposed contract. Similarly, UAW Local 659, representing workers at the Flint engine operations plant, also voted against the deal by a 52% to 48% margin.
The proposed contracts were negotiated after UAW members went on strike for over six weeks. If approved, the contracts will last until April 30, 2028, and will provide an 11% initial wage increase and a total pay increase of 25% over the 4½ year deal.
The new contracts also reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, allow workers to reach top wages in three years instead of eight, and protect their right to strike over plant closures. Both the United Auto Workers and the carmakers have described the deals as 'record' contracts based on these pay increases.
The rejection of the proposed contract by the Flint plant is significant due to its historical importance in the UAW's history. The Flint assembly plant, which makes the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD, is the automaker's longest-running assembly plant in the U.S.
The UAW is planning to revitalize the labor movement and has declared its intention to unionize workers at Toyota, Honda, and Tesla facilities across the U.S. The union's goal is to spend the next few years organizing auto workers across the country.