The American auto industry is on the verge of what might be the largest strike in 50 years. The Big Three and the UAW have been unable to ratify a brand new contract that meets the demands of all parties involved, prompting the union to vote on strike authorization ahead of the current contract’s expiration. The votes have now been tallied, and 97 percent of union employees have voted yes — meaning the overwhelming majority of the UAW is able to strike. And it could begin as soon as September 15 unless Ford, GM and Chrysler can offer an appropriate agreement.
Staff are are reportedly asking for cost-of-living adjustments, which were suspended in 2007 when the American public bailed out the auto giants amid the Great Recession. The “COLA” adjustments (as UAW employees discuss with them) date back to the ’50s. These are guaranteed raises matching the speed of inflation within the U.S., that are meant to keep up parity between employee pay and their living expenses.
Adjusting for inflation, employees hired in 2023 make $10 lower than employees who were hired in 2007, in response to statistics cited by More Perfect Union.
The Big Three told employees they may now not afford to maintain up with inflation — at the least, not through the recovery period needed to get the U.S. auto industry back heading in the right direction. It’s been 16 years since then, and COLA adjustments have yet to materialize despite record profits for the industry and record bonuses going to Ford, GM and Chyrsler executives.
Staff are also demanding an end to the tiered employee system, one other relic of the Great Recession that allows automakers to pay employees different wages for doing the identical work depending on after they were hired. Staff also say that there at the moment are less (or no) full-time employees on assembly lines, as automakers much prefer to bring on so-called supplemental employees. This “temp employee” category lets automakers legally get away with not extending full-time advantages, reminiscent of competitive healthcare and full retirement pay.
Now that the union has authorized a possible strike, the onus is on automakers to return to the bargaining table in good faith with a proposal the UAW’s 150,000 employees deem satisfactory. Either that or suffer considered one of the largest strikes within the U.S. within the last half-century.
This Article First Appeared At jalopnik.com
