‘Not yet:’ Auto workers’ strike underway, UAW chief says
United Automobile Workers union president Shawn Fine spoke to union members, saying the strike was working, but there was still work to be done.
Thousands of members, with no slowdown in sight United Auto Workers enters fifth week of strikeG. against three Detroit automakers.
Most recently, 8,700 workers walked off the job at Ford’s largest plant, putting the company at risk of losing about $30 million a day in profits.
Workers in Ford’s Kentucky truck plant builds the Ford Super Duty, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. Super Duty is one of the most profitable products Ford sells. Ford reports that factory-built vehicles generate $25 billion in annual revenue.
Union workers at the plant are calling for a fair contract and better wages. It joins 25,300 auto workers already on strike At select Ford, GM and Stellantis facilities nationwide.
According to an Associated Press report, The Detroit Three have already laid off about 4,800 auto workers at factories not on strike. Striking workers receive $500 per week from the union’s strike pay fund.
The UAW strike As the strike reaches 1 month, some workers are getting impatient
How do auto labor wages compare to other hourly workers?
As stated therein US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average auto worker earns $28 an hour. This wage is up about a dollar from the previous year.
In states where the Detroit Three car manufacturers have factories, workers are striking for better wages. Here’s how average hourly wages compare in other common occupations:
- Manufacturing jobs pay the highest hourly wages in all states, including childcare, food preparation and service, and manufacturing.
- Average hourly wages for manufacturing workers are highest in California, Washington, and Illinois, each of which is among the top 20 most expensive states in the United States. According to Bureau of Economic Analysis regional price balance data.
- Average hourly wages for child care workers are lowest in Kentucky, one of the states with the cheapest consumer goods in the United States. According to BEA data. Child care workers there earn an average of $12.28 an hour.
How do the wages of auto workers compare to the wages of CEOs?
Autoworkers say their wages have stagnated even as profits and CEO compensation at Detroit’s auto companies have increased.
Together, the three companies have achieved near-record profits It generated $21 billion in revenue in the first half of the year alone.
The union says, ‘Wait a minute. You’ve paused Cola, so let’s reinstall it now that you’re making money. CEO pay is going higher and higher,” said Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Top workers — meaning anyone who joined the company in 2007 or before — earn an average of $33 an hour, contract summaries for the Detroit Three show. Those hired after 2007 are part of the bottom tier and earn up to $17 an hour based on 6% annual raises under the last contract.
Not all auto workers in the Detroit Three come close to a higher wage rate. Temporary or auxiliary workers make less.
As far as compensation of CEOs is concerned – $29 million to GM’s Mary Barra$21 million to Ford’s Jim Barley and $24.8 million to Stellandis in 2022; As the Free Press recently noted.
UAW Strike: Experts say Detroit automakers will have to pay the UAW to win a contract
Why is the UAW on strike?
- Abolition of pay scales
- 40% wage hike during the life of the contract. 40% represents a CEO salary increase.
- Restoring Cost of Living Allowance adjustments to account for inflation.
- Defined pension for all workers.
- Right to strike on plant closures.
- A reduced work week and more paid holidays.
- Controlling the use of temporary workers.
- Additional benefits for current retirees.
Since the strike began in mid-September, UAW President Shawn Fine has expanded twice to include 38 parts distribution centers across the country and GM’s Lansing Delta Assembly, Ford’s Chicago Assembly and Kentucky Truck.
About 115,000 UAW members are still on the job.
Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this report
