1st Place, News Story
2023-24, Division 4, News Writing
By Vik Sampath
The Crane-Clarion
Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School
The United Auto Workers’ (UAW) 46-day strike came to an end on Oct. 30 after the union reached an agreement with General Motors (GM), a few days after their agreement with Stellantisand Ford. The contracts were ratified a few weeks later.
Key contract provisions
Over the life of the new contract with Ford, starting wages will increase by 68% to over $28 an hour, while top wages will increase by more than 30% to over $40 an hour.
The gains weren’t just about wages. The roughly 45,000 striking union members also received the right to strike over plant closings.
Mark DePaoli, a Vice President of UAW Local 600 who was involved in the negotiations, highlighted how the new contract also equalized pay between plants.
“One of the gains we’re most proud of had to do with two plants that weren’t at the same level as all the rest,” DePaoli told the Crane. “Their members made less money, they topped out at less money. We got them up to top pay with everybody else.”
In an email exchange with the Crane, Ford CEO Jim Farley described the contract negotiations as difficult but said they were ultimately agreed upon for the improvement of the company as well as its workers.
“There are always issues of contention and debate that we work through during contract negotiations as we balance compensation and benefits with ensuring Ford has a competitive business,” Farley said. “In the end, we came together to reach a contract that was ratified by our employees that is mutually beneficial.”
A significant focus of the UAW was on the growing electric sector of the auto industry. Stellantis’s Sterling Heights assembly plant, one of the plants impacted by UAW’s 46-day strike since Sep. 15, is now back to full production. UAW’s new contracts with the Big Three automakers included higher base salaries and more retirement benefits. In the agreements, Ford, along with Stellantis and GM, made billion-dollar guarantees to build electric vehicles in U.S. factories, which will improve job security.
“We had to make sure that we had our foot in the door in the electric vehicle plants and the battery plants,” DePaoli said. “Because if that does end up being our future, and our foot’s not in the door, we’ll lose that whole sector of the industry to low-wage jobs.”
Students differ
Opinions among CK students differed about the strike. Some students said they worried about its negative impact on the economy.
Indeed, Farley pointed out that the three Ford plants where the UAW struck lost several weeks of production. According to Reuters, the total economic cost of the strike 36 days after the strike began was already $7 billion.
“I believe these corporations can recuperate these losses,” said sophomore Nabhah Veeramani, a member of the Business Club. “But the bargaining deals that the UAW gains are a now-or-never type thing.”
For junior Kendall Pankopf, whether the auto companies can recuperate their losses is not the biggest concern.
“Human rights, feelings, and treatment are more important than profit or industry,” she said.
Junior Henry Chibe, a member of the History Club, said he saw the debate from both the company and the union sides. According to Chibe, from a corporate perspective, the demands of strikers could be excessive due to the effect on profits. However, from the workers’ perspective, he said, it was getting harder and harder for current wages to meet everyday needs due to the rising cost of living.
Junior Jason Stutman believes the concerns of the auto workers and the union leaders are noble but that the strikes will realistically encourage companies in major industries to outsource their labor.
“Other countries can do the same work for cheaper, growing foreign auto industries and continuing the decline of Michigan’s,” Stutman said.
Not just auto
According to DePaoli, many of the UAW’s demands stemmed from concessions made following the Great Recession from 2008-09 to save jobs. Specifically, DePaoli said that a 2009 “concessionary” agreement switched to a two-tiered wage and benefits system in order to create jobs. In the years since, the union’s membership at Ford has almost doubled.
DePaoli said that an agreement in 2011 was too early to get big gains since recovery was just starting. In 2015 and 2019 agreements, the UAW made gains in several areas but not to the level prior to the concessionary agreement. However, following the pandemic, auto companies struggled to hire and retain workers, which gave the UAW leverage in the most recent negotiations.
The UAW strikes were not exclusive to auto companies. Members of the UAW went on strike at Blue Cross Blue Shield, Michigan’s largest healthcare provider, as well as multiple Detroit casinos.
The UAW reached an agreement with Blue Cross on Nov. 29. The contracts with Hollywood Casino and MotorCity Casino were ratified on Nov. 20, while the contract with MGM Grand Detroit was ratified on Dec. 3.
NW-02. News Story
News stories should report but not interpret events that have news value and timeliness to the publication’s readers. Advance stories may be included in this category; follow-up stories should be submitted in NW-03.
Judging Criteria
- Sharp, attention-getting lead that underscores news story importance
- The most important, relevant and timely information is near the beginning of the story
- Emphasizes news elements, i.e. timeliness, nearness, impact, and prominence
- Shows thorough reporting skills; develops an understanding of the issues/problems through interviews with varied and balanced sources
- Effective use of facts/quotes gathered predominantly from primary sources. Secondary sources, if used, are cited appropriately.
- Avoids opinion unless properly attributed
- Sentences, paragraphs of varied length; written clearly, concisely, and vividly
- Proper diction/grammar; use of third person