Ford's UAW deal proves workers can sometimes get what they want – and bosses should be worried

• GM and Stellantis started negotiations with the UAW on Thursday after it reached an agreement with Ford.
• An end to the auto workers' strike is now in sight six weeks after they began.

After 40 days of strikes, Wednesday brought a big breakthrough in the United Auto Workers' ongoing dispute with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

The union announced that it had reached a tentative agreement with Ford for pay rises of 25%. According to the UAW, that's a bigger raise than all its wage increases for the past two decades.

And it's all because workers walked off the job to take to the picket lines.

The Ford deal could be a wake-up call not just for GM and Stellantis, but for any CEO facing with potential strike action by their workforce.

The UAW deployed a canny strategy from the get-go. As well as taking simultaneous action against all of America's big three auto makers for the first time, it left them guessing just which plants it would target.

It's been called the "stand-up strike" because, instead of walking out at all plants at the same time, the union selected those that could have the biggest impact. That also meant the industrial action could go on for longer.

According to The Intercept, Stellantis admitted it was caught off-guard at the beginning — taking preparations at plants that weren't affected by walkouts.

The Ford agreement was reached after the UAW targeted other key facilities earlier this week. On Monday, workers went on strike at a Stellantis factory in Sterling Heights, Michigan. And a day later, 5,000 walked out of a GM factory in Arlington, Texas.

Shawn Fain, the UAW president, said these were the three companies' most profitable plants.

"Ford knew what was coming for them on Wednesday if we didn't get a deal," he said. "That was checkmate."

There was still strong opposition from Stellantis and GM before the deal with Ford emerged.

On Tuesday's earnings call, GM CEO Mary Barra said the company has made a record pay offer and wouldn't agree to a contract that jeopardizes GM's future.

Barra is the highest paid of the three CEOs, making about $29 million a year. That's increased by a third over the past four years, Insider previously reported.

Talks between GM and the UAW lasted until 5 a.m. on Thursday morning, Reuters reported. The two parties were very close on financial aspects, but still discussing other issues such as the use of temporary workers, per the news agency.

Similar talks also took place with Stellantis on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The negotiations mean an end to the strikes is now in sight after six weeks.

In an X post on Thursday, Senator Bernie Sanders called on GM and Stellantis to "get serious and negotiate a fair contract for their workers."

"When workers fight back against corporate greed, they win," he added. "The American people are watching."

Fain posted a rallying cry for labor rights, too: "Don't let them tell you it can't be done. The working class is going on offense, and winning."

Indeed, this year also saw a huge victory for the Teamsters, securing a pay rise for UPS workers that lets full-time drivers make $170,000 a year. Even people in tech were jealous of those numbers.

The Teamsters had threatened strike action, with more than 340,000 unionized UPS employees set to take part, which the company decided it could do without.

The Big Three automakers took the opposite route, suffering a drawn-out and high-profile dispute, as well as disruptions to production.

The lesson for corporate America appears to be bosses can no longer underestimate the power of a determined union.