The bargaining team representing striking UAW workers at Cornell has reached a tentative agreement with the university.
Service and maintenance workers at the university have been on strike for over a week as students returned to classes for the fall semester. The union has been bargaining with Cornell for a new contract with higher wages for months.
Union members will vote on whether or not to ratify the contract on Sunday and Monday. Workers could leave the picket line and return to their jobs as soon as Tuesday of next week.
The proposal includes average hourly wage increases of 21-25.4% over four years. Cost-of-living adjustments and longevity, lump-sum bonuses were also secured in the deal.
Additionally, the agreement would end the tiered wage system, which paid workers hired before 1997 more than people who have started their jobs since then.
The UAW called the tentative agreement “historic” on social media Wednesday. The union’s previous contract lapsed at the end of June.
