UAW and Ford Motor make progress in labor negotiations

(Reuters) - The United Auto Workers (UAW) and Ford Motor have narrowed their differences on pay increases after a new offer from the automaker amid "really active" talks, people familiar with the bargaining among the Detroit Three automakers and the union said on Wednesday.

UAW President Shawn Fain plans to update the union's 150,000 members at Ford, General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis <STLAM.MI? on Friday, a person briefed on the union's plans said.

As the union's strike against the 'Detroit Three' enters its 21st day, here is a timeline of events beginning with the election of Fain in March:

Date Development

March 25 Shawn Fain wins the race for UAW

president; vows to take a tough stance

against the Big Three automakers.

July 10 The union says it will open contract talks

with Detroit's Big Three automakers starting

July 13.

July 11 Fain says the union is not afraid to hold a

strike at any of the automakers without a

fair contract.

July 19 Fain meets President Joe Biden at the White

House as the union briefed the staff on

contract talks with the automakers.

Aug. 1 The UAW presents demands to Stellantis, says

the union is seeking ambitious benefit

increases from the Detroit Three, including

double-digit pay rises and defined-benefit

pensions for all workers.

Aug. 2 The union presents contract demands to

General Motors

Aug. 3 The union presents contract demands to Ford

Aug. 8 Fain angrily tosses contract proposals from

Stellantis in a trash can, citing numerous

concessions that the Chrysler parent is

seeking in labor talks.

Aug. 25 The UAW says 97% of voting members were in

favor of authorizing a strike at the Detroit

Three if an agreement is not reached before

Sept. 14.

Aug. 31 The union says it has filed unfair labor

practice charges with the National Labor

Relations Board (NLRB) against GM and

Stellantis, saying they have refused to

bargain in good faith.

Aug. 31 Ford makes a contract offer to the UAW,

providing hourly employees with 15%

guaranteed combined wage increases, lumpsum

payments and improved benefits over the life

of the contract

Sept. 1 The NLRB says it will investigate unfair

labor practice charges filed by the UAW union

against GM and Stellantis.

Sept 6 The UAW makes a labor contract

counterproposal on economic issues to Ford

Sept. 7 GM makes counteroffer to the UAW that

includes a 10% wage hike and two additional

3% annual lumpsum payments over four years.

Fain calls the offer "insulting."

Sept. 8 Stellantis says it offered U.S. hourly

workers a 14.5% wage hike over four years but

no lumpsum payments.

Sept. 8 Fain says the UAW union wants a deal to avoid

walkouts at the Detroit Three, but expects to

go on strike against all of them next week if

they do not improve their contract offers.

Sept. 11 Stellantis says it plans to make a new

counteroffer to the UAW after the union made

its own revised offer on Sunday ahead of the

expiration of the current four-year labor

deal Thursday night.

Sept. 13 The UAW rejected counteroffers from the

automakers and outlined plans for strikes

targeting individual U.S. auto plants in what

would be its first-ever simultaneous strike

against the Detroit Three.

Sept. 15 The UAW launched simultaneous strikes that

will halt production of some popular models

at three factories owned by GM, Ford and

Stellantis.

Sept. 16 Negotiators for the UAW and Ford had

"reasonably productive discussions" toward a

new contract, while officials at Stellantis

said a proposal to resume work at an idled

Illinois factory has fallen through.

Sept. 18 On the fourth day of the strike, UAW said it

would announce on Sept. 22 more plants to

strike if no serious progress was made in

talks, adding to pressure on the Detroit

Three automakers.

Sept. 19 UAW members picketing in Michigan and Ohio

urged union leaders to hold firm on their

biggest demands on pay hikes and compensation

as the strike hits its fifth day.

Sept. 20 UAW said 190 workers went on strike at

Mercedes-supplier ZF's plant in Alabama,

demanding higher pay and better healthcare

benefits.

Sept. 22 UAW will expand its strikes against GM and

Stellantis, but has made real progress in

talks with Ford Motor, the union said.

Sept 24. Ford said that despite progress in some

areas, it still has "significant gaps to

close" on key economic issues before it can

reach a new labor agreement with the UAW

union.

Sept. 28 The UAW made a new counter-proposal to

Stellantis, just one day before it is set to

strike additional Detroit Three automotive

facilities without serious progress in

ongoing labor negotiations.

Sept. 29 The UAW will walk off the job at an

additional plant at General Motors and at

Ford, said Fain. The new strike will not

extend to Stellantis, which called before the

scheduled 10 a.m. ET announcement to make

significant changes in its contract proposal.

Ford CEO Jim Farley accused the

Sept. 29 union of holding up a new U.S. labor

agreement in a bid to force the automaker to

pay workers at new battery plants the same

top wages as workers at assembly plants.

GM and Ford said they are laying

Oct.2 off another 500 workers at four Midwestern

plants because of the impact on some of the

facilities of the UAW strike. Separately, the

UAW confirmed it presented a new contract

offer to GM. GM said it has received the

counterproposal "but significant gaps

remain."

Ford said it had made a new

Oct. 3 contract offer to resolve a 19-day-old

targeted strike but said a dispute over

battery plants remained unresolved. Ford said

the new offer boosted wages for temporary

workers, increased company 401(k)

contributions and had further shrunk time

needed to get to the top wage rate.

(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal and Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur)