Local UAW members reap benefits of GM’s profits

That means additional money will flow into the bank accounts of hundreds of workers at GM’s manufacturing plants in Lockport and the Town of Tonawanda.

GM revealed the size of the payouts on Tuesday as the automaker released its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings.

The profit-sharing payments are part of the UAW’s contract with GM. Eligible workers receive payments based on a formula of $1,000 for every $1 billion of North American pretax profits.

The profit-sharing total was down slightly from the $12,750 payments for 2022. During 2023, the UAW went on strike at a limited number of GM, Ford and Stellantis facilities. UAW members at GM’s Buffalo-area plants were not called to the picket line.

Ray Jensen Jr., assistant director of UAW Region 9, said the profit-sharing payments are “a testament to all our hard work across GM.”

“Also, it just shows how much money GM is really making and that they can definitely afford to pay our workers,” he said.

Michael DeLucas, president of UAW Local 686 at GM’s Lockport components plant, said the profit-sharing system “gives them more of a stake in the company. It’s always been a huge asset for us and we fought for that again in this round of (contract) negotiations.”

The UAW represents 1,353 workers at the Upper Mountain Road complex.

UAW leaders say members keep tabs on GM’s financial performance from quarter to quarter. By the time the fourth quarter results are released, workers have a sense of how the profit-sharing payments are shaping up.

“They pay attention to it,” DeLucas said. “It gives them more and more incentive to do the quality work they’ve always done.”

At the Tonawanda plant, members produce engines for vehicles including the Silverado, Tahoe and Corvette. The workers see a connection…