Why the United Auto Workers want big raises
I chose the article “Why the United Auto Workers want big raises” by Jeff Kowalsky on
NBC News because it is a current issue going on in the vehicle market with workers wanting pay
increases. When these workers didn’t get their desired raises at 40% the UAW (United Auto
Workers Union) launched a strike stopping production in three major production plants starting
last Friday. The strike affected the Ford Motor company in its plant in Wayne, Michigan, General
Motors in Wentzville Missouri, and Stellantis who makes Chrysler in Toledo Ohio. Their big
reason for the strike is they want compensation and benefits. Their end goal is “wage increases of
up to 40% over the length of the next four-year contracts.” Another want they have is full time
pay for 32-hour workweeks. The last big want they have is better pensions and improved
healthcare. I think the workers and the UAW have a reason to want an increase and pay and
better benefits, but I think they are asking way too much at one time. I think they should either
go after either better pay or 32-hour workweeks for full time pay. I don’t think these workers will
get both because it is already a big ask for such a wage increase and then they want to make big
money and not work as much. The only offers they have gotten back from the car companies
have been a wage increase of 14.5% from Stellantis and a 20% increase from Ford. After hearing
their responses, the UAW responded “barely makes up for minimal past raises combined with
high inflation. I think the UAW should slow down on their push for wage increases and make a
more consistent change instead of demanding a 40% increase and then going on strike when it
doesn’t happen. Also, I understand where the UAW is coming from because the big front office
people are getting huge pay jumps such as GM’s Chief Mary Barra 32.5% increase where the
standard GM employee’s wage rose 2.8%. Stellantis who makes Chrysler is “headquartered in
Amsterdam, where pay disclosure rules differ from those in the U.S. But disclosures
show the company’s CEO, Carlos Tavares, making 365 times as much as its median
employee.” Ford on the other hand has shared their pay around better as their “new
CEO, Jim Farley, in 2020, and pay for that role jumped by 18% from 2018 to 2022,
while the median Ford employee’s pay rose by 16.1%.” Even though Fords pay has
increased steady between people their CEO is making 281-to-1 of a normal employee.
My opinion is I think the companies should share the profits around more evenly instead of one
person making a lot more money than anybody else. I don’t even think everybody should make
the exact same amount, but I think it should be work based. However much you do is how much
pay you receive so if you are a hardworking dedicated employee, you make more than the guy
sitting in the corner on his cell phone. I think this would solve a lot of issues because they would
be able to prove why someone is making the money they are when questioned and it would give
employees drive to do better because they know if they do better, they make more. The auto
companies’ reasons for not giving wage increases are “they need to balance their labor costs
with investments in EV infrastructure, especially given growing competition from the
likes of Tesla, Volkswagen and Hyundai, which all employ typically much cheaper
nonunion workers in the U.S.” I don’t think with a work-based pay this would be an
issue because as workers work harder to make more money company the profit will also
increase because they can produce more cars so they will have their money to balance
the labor costs of EV. I am very interested to see how this comes to an end and how it
ends up being settled. I don’t think the UAW is going to get all their wants but at the
same time I think the auto companies are going to have to pay up.
Works Cited
“Why the United Auto Workers Want Big Raises.” NBCNews.Com, NBCUniversal News Group,
www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/uaw-strike-pay-benefits-raises-big-threeautomakers-rcna103716. Accessed 19 Sept. 2023.