Only hours until their arrival The current employment contract endsUnited Auto and Detroit’s Big Three are still struggling to navigate a major sticking point in the contentious negotiations: pay.
Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (formerly Fiat Chrysler) have spent weeks negotiating with USAW, hammering out the details of a new labor agreement that has far-reaching implications for the US automotive industry. UAW President Shaun Fine said members should get a bigger pay rise because car companies have brought in billions of dollars in profits and raised CEO pay in recent years.
Here’s what you need to know about the wage portion of the UAW-Big Three negotiations.
What is the average salary of an American auto worker?
In general, factory workers are not paid a salary, but receive an hourly wage. On average, U.S. automakers on production lines earned about $28 an hour in August, up $1 from a year earlier. Data From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
But the exact figure for each worker varies depending on how much a person makes for a particular automobile. In an industry-standard wage system, recent hires start at lower wages than longer-serving workers.
High-level employees — meaning anyone who joined the company in 2007 or earlier — make an average of $33 an hour, according to contract summaries for the Big Three. Those hired after 2007 are part of the bottom tier and will earn up to $17 an hour based on 6% annual raises, according to the latest contract.
Unlike high-level workers, low-level workers do not receive a defined benefit pension and their health benefits are less generous.
UAW members want the two-tier pay system abolishedStating that it will reduce low-level colleagues to second-class citizens.
Loss of real wages
Adjusted for inflation, the average real wage for auto manufacturing workers, or adjusted for inflation, has fallen 19.3 percent since 2008. he said. Adam Hersh, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. That’s because cuts made following the auto industry crisis of 2008 have not been reinstated, Hirsch said, including the suspension of cost-of-living adjustments.
What is the average CEO pay for the Big Three?
Ford CEO Jim Farley received $21 million in total compensation last year, according to the Detroit News reportedStellantis CEO Carlos Tavares earned $24.8 million. basis For the Detroit Free Press. GM CEO Mary Barras to earn nearly $29 million in 2022 pay, Automotive News reported. Total CEO pay at the big three companies will grow 40 percent from 2013 to 2022, Hersh said.
Barras makes 362 times more than a typical GM employee, while Tavares makes 365 times more, according to company filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Farley makes 281 times more at Ford, documents show.
