Loss three major US automakers improved their salary offers for the next collective agreement, but it was not enough to prevent a major strike in the country’s automotive industry. This was warned by the union United Auto Workers (UAW), which warned of a long distance between the offers from Ford, General Motors and Stellantis to the demands of the workers. Tesla remains on the sidelines by not having the UAW union on its works council.
The group that raised its pay offer the most was Stellantis, part of Chrysler, which offered the UAW a pay increase of 14.5% over four years, although it did not envisage additional pay over that period.
Offers from GM, Ford and Stellantis
GM offered negotiations a 10% wage increase and two additional 3% lump sum payments over four years. Ford’s offer is similar, considering a 10% salary increase through 2027 and a balloon payment of 6%. Additionally, Stellantis offers $10,500 in inflation protection payments over four years, while GM offers $11,000 and Ford $12,000.
Protest before the automotive strike in the US
With these offers, the minimum wage for temporary workers will rise to $20 an hour ($4.22 more than before) and the time it takes to reach the top wage for regular auto workers will be reduced from in eight to six years.
The president of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, indicated that the union representing 146,000 workers wanted an agreement to avoid a strike, although preparations continued due to insufficient offers. the collective agreements of the three major US automakers.
The union is asking for a 46% raise
The 10% and 14.5% raises over four years are in contrast to the UAW’s demand for a 46% wage increase, including an immediate 20% increase in defined benefit pensions for all workers, 32-hour work weeks and additional increases based on inflation.
The UAW warned that the GM and Ford offers would change the formula for calculating profit sharing, which if it had been implemented last year, GM workers would have received 29% less and Ford workers would have received 29% less. .
In the past weeks, US President Joe Biden called on the two parties to continue negotiations to prevent the strike from happening. The UAW union has achieved near-unanimous support from employees to call a strike if there are bad job offers.
