The agreement also would give longtime workers their first raises in almost a decade. One of those constructive ways was GM’s decision to pay $9,000 in profit sharing last spring to its full-time UAW workers, or about $2,400 more than they were entitled to under the 2011 contract, based on pretax profit in North America.
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All workers would get an $8,000 signing bonus.
Workers at Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) voted 77% in favor of the agreement, the UAW said in a post on the UAW Chrysler Facebook page.
Further, workers who are hired at $17 an hour will earn progressively higher until they receive an hourly wage of $30 in eight years. The other key difference is health care.
The UAW knows it has to maintain that level of competitiveness, or it won’t have companies to work for in the future. The new pact also eliminates the two-tier wage payment system. UAW President Dennis Williams on Wednesday did not answer a question from reporters about whether voting would be wrapped up in a week. The UAW abandoned that goal after FCA workers rejected the first contract the UAW recommended. That’s partly why, even as USA employment has risen slightly from its recessionary low, it’s nowhere near on track to return to its high in the 1980s. However, those commitments will only result in the addition of 103 new jobs.
The agreement comes with wage increases across the workforce, better benefits for entry-level employees, investments in 12 different GM sites and the creation or retention of 3,300 jobs.
After the UAW’s ratification process with GM is complete the union will resume discussions with Ford.
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Once it reaches a tentative agreement with Ford that agreement will need to be ratified by Ford workers.
