GM, UAW Reach New Contract Agreement, Avoid Strike Authorization Deadline

The United Auto Wokers Union (UAW) and General Motors Co. (GM) have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year contract, putting an end to the possibility of a strike for the time being.

The UAW announced that the agreement was reached 11:43 p.m. Sunday, a mere 16 minutes before employees at GM's U.S. plants were free to strike if an agreement hadn't been reached, according to USA Today.

The process is still incomplete, however, and a fallout is still within the realm of possibility. The UAW notes the next step will be for local union leaders to meet Wednesday in Detroit to vote on the tentative agreement. If the leaders agree on the deal, then GM's U.S. hourly workers will vote on it.

If agreed upon, the agreement will cover 52,600 U.S. auto workers at 62 GM facilities.

Though the details of the proposed contract weren't immediately available, UAW President Dennis Williams gave a general statement about some of the benefits the deal would confer, saying it will provide "long-term, significant wage gains and job security benefits now and in the future," reported the Associated Press. Other UAW officials went into greater detail saying the deal presents "significant" wage gains and job commitments, and will gradually eliminate the two-tier wage system used in the plants.

GM was supportive of the agreement, saying it benefits employees but still provides flexibility to the company.

"The new UAW-GM national agreement is good for employees and the business," said Cathy Clegg, GM North America's VP for manufacturing and labor relations, according to The Wall Street Journal. "Working with our UAW partners, we developed constructive solutions that benefit employees and provide flexibility for the company to respond to the needs of the marketplace."

The automaker did note, however, that it would not comment further until the agreement is ratified.

This tentative agreement comes on the heels of another four-year pact UAW made with Fiat Chrysler, who had to "sweeten the deal" after union workers rejected Chrysler's first proposed contract.