At present, the average new hire at the assembly lines makes as much as 40 percent less per hour than someone who is an old hand or a veteran. Ending the two-tier wage structure and decreasing the use of temporary workers were two hot topics to address.
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General Motors chief executive Mary Barra has again rebuffed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne, bluntly rejecting his persistent pressure to engage in merger talks. When Williams and Marchionne kicked off labor talks with a public handshake in July, the UAW president said he would consider variable pay if it got workers – especially those in Tier 2 – to a middle- class income.
With an agreement hammered out at Fiat Chrysler, attention turns now to GM and Ford.
Fiat Chrysler was picked as the lead company in the talks this year, making it the focus of bargaining.
The proposed deal to be submitted to the rank and file for a ratification vote was announced about 19 hours after the two sides announced “an hour-by-hour” extension to the 2011 contract following the 11:59 p.m. Monday deadline.
The main issue in the talks appeared to be pay rises. Union rules require contracts to be ratified by both skilled trades and production workers. If UAW demands are not met or do not meet their expectations, the workers could even go on strike, crippling FCA. But he has indicated the top wages should come down in favour of fatter profit-sharing checks.
The union has historically ensured that the Detroit Three automakers do not face competitive disadvantages by negotiating similar four-year contracts with each company. The deal would set the pattern for contract negotiations at Ford and GM. FCA is the only one of the Detroit Three whose USA labor costs are lower than foreign competitors such as Toyota; Ford and GM think that is an unfair advantage and want to be on par with FCA. “It has to do with things being very close to the end, but all these negotiations are in secret, so we really have no idea for sure”, McElroy said.
“We have studied that issue in great detail, both with internal resources and external experts, and it’s not in the best interest of General Motors’ shareholders”, Barra said at the Frankfurt global Motor Show, Bloomberg reports.
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Williams has made public his vision of a health care benefits co-op that pools the active workers at all three companies for purchasing clout in dealing with heath care providers in an effort to secure cost savings. Several non-union American workers who are employed at auto plants of Asian and European manufacturers in the United States, specifically those in the south, have far more flexible rules at work.
