United Auto Staff President Shawn Fain, middle, walks within the Labor Day parade in Detroit on Monday. (AP)
DETROIT — General Motors’ first wage-and-benefit offer to the United Auto Staff on Thursday fell far wanting the union’s initial demands.
The offer comes just every week before the UAW’s national contracts with GM, Stellantis and Ford expire, and regardless that either side are far apart, it’s an indication of movement on economic issues.
Still, union President Shawn Fain called the offer “insulting.” He’s threatening to strike against any automaker that hasn’t reached a tentative agreement by the point contracts expire at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 14. A strike against a number of automakers by as much as 146,000 auto staff is an actual possibility.
GM said in a letter to staff that it’s offering a ten% wage increase during a brand new four-year contract, plus two more 3% one-time payments. It is also offering a $6,000 inflation payment, $5,000 more in lump sums to guard against inflation through the contract, and a $5,000 contract ratification bonus. The corporate would not say when the pay raises or many of the lump sums can be effective.
The wage offer is barely higher than one from Ford that was rejected by the union last week. Its reliance on lump-sum payments fairly than annual pay raises is contrary to what Fain has been looking for.
The union also said GM rejected its demand to extend retiree pension payments and kept lower tiers of pay at component plants and parts warehouses.
Last week the UAW filed unfair labor practices complaints against GM and Stellantis with the National Labor Relations Board. On the time, though, neither company had made a counterproposal to the union’s economic demands.
The union, citing large company profits over phe last decade and CEO pay raises, is looking for 46% across-the-board pay raises over 4 years, a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, restoration of traditional pensions for brand new hires, union representation of staff at recent battery plants, and elimination of wage tiers. Top-scale UAW assembly plant staff make about $32 an hour, plus annual profit-sharing checks.
In a text message through a spokesman Thursday, Fain said the proposal “doesn’t come near an equitable agreement.”
He accused GM of failing to bargain in good faith for the past six weeks, and making the offer only after the union filed complaints with the NLRB.
“GM either doesn’t care or isn’t listening after we say we’d like economic justice at GM,” Fain wrote. “The clock is ticking. Stop wasting our members’ time.”
In GM’s letter to employees signed by President Mark Reuss and manufacturing chief Gerald Johnson, the corporate said the wage increases it proposed are the most important because the 1999 contract.
“Our offer includes well-deserved wage improvements that far exceed the 2019 agreement and reward you to your exertions,” the letter said. “We still have work to do, but we desired to make this offer to indicate our good faith efforts to maintain the method moving.”
The union was scheduled to make one other offer in response to Ford’s on Thursday. Stellantis said it might have a counterproposal by the top of the week.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday, Fain conceded that the union won’t get all of its demands in bargaining. He said the UAW would go on strike next week against any of the three automakers which have not reached a tentative contract agreement.
This Article First Appeared At www.autoblog.com
