GM workers ratify contract, end strike

ROMULUS, Mich. — A contentious 40-day strike that crippled General Motors’ U.S. production came to an end Friday as workers approved a new contract with the company.

The four-year deal will now be used as a template in bargaining with crosstown rival Ford Motor Co., the union’s choice for the next round of bargaining, followed by Fiat Chrysler.

GM workers voted 57.2% in favor of the pact, passing it with a vote of 23,389 to 17,501, the union said in a statement.

Picket lines came down almost immediately after the vote was announced, and some of the 49,000 striking workers were expected to return to their jobs as early as Friday night. Some skilled trades employees such as electricians and machinists were to enter the plants to get machinery restarted in preparation for production workers to return as early as Saturday.

“It was a good vacation, but I guess I’ve got to go back,” joked Paul Daru, a 42-year worker at GM’s engine and transmission plant in Romulus, Michigan, near Detroit. “I miss the socializing and stuff like that, seeing the guys, going out on the job and figuring out what the problem is.”

Although workers at his factory approved the deal, Daru said he voted against it because it still has several different pay scales for workers doing the same jobs. “Somebody who is working next to you for 17 bucks per hour, you’re doing the same thing,” said Daru, an electrician who may go back to work Saturday.

Temporary workers can get permanent jobs after two or three years depending on their start dates, but they start at the bottom of a pay scale, so people doing the same work can end up at different pay rates.

The deal also includes a mix of wage increases and lump-sum payments and an $11,000 signing bonus. But it allows GM to close three U.S. factories, a point of contention for many of the 42.8% of workers who voted no.

The five-week walkout was big enough to help push down September U.S. durable goods orders by 1.1%, the largest drop in four months.

“We delivered a contract that recognizes our employees for the important contributions they make to the overall success of the company, with a strong wage and benefit package and additional investment and job growth in our U.S. operations,” GM CEO Mary Barra said in a statement.