UAW reaches tentative agreement with Ford to end strike

• The United Auto Workers union has reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor to end a strike.
• The strike started on September 15 and is coming up to six weeks.

The United Auto Workers union has reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor to end a strike that's coming to six weeks.

UAW union President Shawn Fain announced the tentative agreement in an X post. The tentative agreement still needs to be approved by union leaders and ratified by union-represented Ford workers.

If approved, it would be the first settlement of strikes against automakers including General Motors and Stellantis.

The tentative deal includes a general 25% wage increase over the course of the contract, said Chuck Browning, the union's vice president in the video.

The starting wage will rise about 68% while the top wage rate will rise about 33% to $40 an hour, he added.

"We told Ford to pony up, and they did," said Fain.

Ford said in a statement that it's calling 20,000 of its workers back to work.

UAW workers first walked off the job on September 15, when the union's previous contract expired. A unique strategy known as a "standup strike," threw precedence out the window, allowing the union to add factories to its action based on results at the bargaining table — all while only slowly dipping into its strike fund. About 46,000 UAW members — or about one-third of the union — went on strike.

Underpinning the negotiations were anxieties about electric vehicles, their unique manufacturing process that requires less labor, and their impact on automakers' profitability.

Thursday, October 26 2:45 a.m.: This story has been updated with Fain's comments and further details of the tentative agreement.