Labor Pains: Because Being in a Union can be Painful

UAW’s Funny Definition of Success

According to the Detroit Free Press, here is what this morning’s agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers “won” for the union:

  • No wage increases.
  • A $3,000 signing bonus for workers.
  • A two-tier wage and benefits scale for new hires.
  • A second-tier of compensation for jobs that GM and the UAW agreed are “non-core” production jobs. This is expected to include many positions in which workers do not have their hands on a vehicle in the assembly process.
  • A targeted special attrition program that the automaker expects to offer to relieve the pain of wage reductions for workers currently assigned to jobs defined as “non-core” in the tentative deal.
  • The possibility of the automaker maintaining the same level of its U.S. manufacturing workforce.

In fact, according to the report, the union won’t be in charge of running the health care plan — which is probably the only good news for UAW members.

Categories: UAW