2/6/25 UAW/TCAT Bargaining Update

2/6/25 

UAW/TCAT Bargaining Update:

Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,

Our bargaining efforts are now centered on economic issues.

Last Friday, the bargaining team introduced our 22 pages of economic demands, receiving a response from TCAT today (Thursday). Based on that response, there is a great deal more work to be done before we will reach a tentative agreement on the bulk of the vital issues raised in our demand package and that the UAW team has faith our members will ratify.

The UAW demands included changes to a wide range of topics including wage increases, keeping training at the levels currently provided through an MoA (Memorandum of Agreement), an increase to shift differentials, improvements to the retirement package, incentives to improve retention, triggers for premium pay for extra work, COLA, phasing out tiers in pay and modest increases to shoe and tool allowances.

TCAT’s response was to reject the economic demands in its’ entirety and substitute it with their own 4-page proposal, which included significantly smaller wage increases, similar increases to shoe and tool allowances as well as keeping the MoA training premiums, but a smaller increase to shift differentials. While not included in their proposal, there was also agreement to keep the Apprentice Mechanic Toolbox Program, which had previously been established through an MoA. Every other item brought by the UAW bargaining team was rejected outright.

TCAT did respond to questions from the UAW team, providing greater clarity as to their concerns and reasoning, but that dialogue will need to continue through additional UAW demands and much conversation between the parties.

The UAW team is currently working through the information gleaned from that discussion, as well as the costing and overall implications of TCAT’s counter-proposal and will spend some time drafting UAW’s response based on that information and, most importantly, our members’ needs.

Our next bargaining session is scheduled for Tuesday, February 11th, with the 13th and 14th also on the calendar.

In solidarity,

UAW TCAT Bargaining Team