The high-stakes negotiations between the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV will determine wages, working conditions and other compensation for nearly 150,000 workers — and, the union’s new leadership believes, the future of those workers as the auto industry undergoes a historic shift to electric vehicles. This is your one-stop shop for The Detroit News’ comprehensive, ongoing coverage of the talks.
Aug. 24: UAW, Ultium Cells agree on wage increases at Ohio battery plant
Aug. 23: UAW president threatens strike if automakers don’t get it together
Aug. 22: Stellantis now an ‘economic powerhouse’ in UAW talks
Aug. 20: UAW rally emphasizes the power of the members
Aug. 18: UAW President Shawn Fain warns Biden that Trump’s EV attacks touch a nerve
Aug. 17: Howes: How Fain’s tough talk threatens to make it harder to avert UAW strike
Aug. 17: UAW strike at Detroit Three for 10 days could cost economy $5.6B, report says
Aug. 16: Inside the UAW’s confrontational new political strategy
Aug. 15: ‘The clock is ticking:’ UAW prepares to step up fight for contract demands
Aug. 14: Biden says auto workers need ‘good jobs that can support a family’ in UAW talks
Aug. 11: Stellantis COO calls UAW demands a ‘losing proposition’
Aug. 8: UAW president Shawn Fain trashes Stellantis contract proposal
Aug. 8: Unions hold rare sway as Unifor begins contract talks with automakers
Aug. 4: UAW’s demands could increase labor costs to $100 per hour per worker
Aug. 3: UAW demands 46% pay hike in talks with Detroit Three automakers
Aug. 1: UAW president reveals ‘the members’ demands’ for Detroit Three talks
July 27: Profits at Detroit Three set up perfect storm for UAW negotiations
July 27: 28 senators call for joint-venture battery plants to be included in national UAW contracts
July 26: Michigan senators urge Detroit Three to ‘negotiate in good faith’ with UAW
July 25: GM’s strong first-half results clouded by concerns over UAW talks
July 20: UAW’s Shawn Fain meets with President Joe Biden in White House
July 13: Ford to seek flexible EV production in contract talks with UAW
July 10: UAW President Shawn Fain says he won’t shake automaker CEO hands until a deal is reached
July 7: UAW’s fight against GM’s battery JV intensifies with new union report
July 4: The fight for COLA: Why the UAW is pushing hard to restore long-lost benefit
June 21: Prominent auto analyst on UAW contract talks: ‘I think we’re going to see a strike’
June 8: UAW gears up for fight over battery worker pay
Here are some of the key areas the UAW and the Detroit Three are focusing on in bargaining for new contracts:
Wages: The union is seeking a 46% wage increase over four years, which would be the largest pay increase in recent memory for autoworkers. The UAW’s top wage is $32.32 per hour after two 3% wage increases since 2019. The union’s proposal would bring that to $47.14, nearing the $49 per hour top rate recently achieved in a tentative agreement by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters with United Parcel Service Inc. The UAW also wants to eliminate wage tiers. General Motors Co. has said it expects to increase wages but that the UAW’s full proposal risks long-term success. Stellantis NV has said it’s not seeking a “concessionary” contract. Ford has said it is willing to work with the union “on creative solutions.”
COLA: UAW leaders have made the reinstatement of COLA one of the union’s top priorities, arguing that inflation is eating into workers’ purchasing power after hitting a four-decade high of 9.1% last year. The benefit was phased out for Detroit Three autoworkers during the cost cuts implemented during the Great Recession and in the wake of the auto bankruptcies. It’s likely that the automakers will put up a fight over COLA because of reluctance to introduce another structural cost at a time when investors are looking for leaner operations to support the costly transition to electric vehicles.
Pensions and health care: The union is seeking pensions for all workers and the revival of health care coverage for retirees. In a July 27 proposal, Stellantis called for increasing employee contribution to health-care and prescription coverage.
Time off: The UAW’s “members’ demands” call for a 32-hour workweek with 40 hours’ pay. Including vacation, holidays, summer shutdowns and other paid time off, the request would represent around 100 paid days off a year. Stellantis, as part of its July 27 proposal, sought to tie wage increases, profit sharing and supplemental unemployment benefits to attendance, saying the absenteeism rate at its plants was 23% last year.
Part-time and temporary workers: The UAW seeks to roll over all current temporary workers to full-time positions and to limit their use going forward. Stellantis has proposed a new employee classification with an alternate, flexible schedule and eliminating the cap on supplemental workers. Under the current contracts, temporary workers receive a base wage of $16.67 an hour.
Battery plant workers: Only one U.S. electric-vehicle battery plant involving the Detroit Three is in operation, the Ultium Cells LLC plant in Warren, Ohio, that’s a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, but numerous other facilities are set to open in the next few years. Workers at the northeast Ohio plant voted last year to joint the UAW and are negotiating an initial contract; they start at $16.50 an hour — just over half of what top-scale Detroit Three assembly and engine workers make. The union wants workers there and at future battery plants involving the Detroit Three to receive the same pay as members covered by the national contracts. The automakers have cited competition from non-union, lower-cost competitors such as Tesla Inc. and transplants and an extra cost of 40% to produce EVs compared with gas-powered models.
UAW employment
GM 46,000Ford 56,000Stellantis 43,000
Hourly labor costGM $67Ford $64Stellantis $63Transplants $55 (est.)Tesla $45 (est.)
2022 Profit-sharingGM $12,750Ford $9,176Stellantis $14,760
Earnings (First-half of 2023)GM $4.9 billionFord $3.7 billionStellantis $12.1 billion
Source: Detroit News research and reports
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