I always thought auto workers got good pay, benefits and pension? With the average price of a new car now costing $47k. You would think there would be a lot of profit margin? Something doesn't add up here! VET
My 2 cents - I believe they do - at least UAW. But Ford and GM have been doing well too. Back in 2009(?) they gave up some pay/benefits to help out their employers and they never got that back. Now that the big three are fat they should get that back plus cost of living (inflation). I read that a strike will cost $5B a week!
I think they were asking for ...40 % pay raise Boy the cost of new vehicles will double... Just my opnion nothing else Scott
Well, they are kinda upset about huge executive pay increases, abuse of mandatory overtime, large payouts to shareholders, and reduced pay and other concessions from past contracts where they tried to help keep the companies alive. The 40% is over the lifetime of the contract. The CEO got a 40% raise in one year. The one point I disagree with is that they want a reinstitution of a traditional pension plan vice the current 401k. Pensions are things of the past and real business killers.
Apparently the manufacturers have a two tier pay system where real full timers get the good pay and new folks are held to part time and much lower pay (yet they’re doing the same work). I saw one fellow who said he had to work 18 years to reach the ‘full time’ designation. If true, that makes some of the workers’ claims and demands seem legit. (The 32 hour workweek ain’t gonna fly, though…) Patrick
Also US auto companies made 22B dollars in the first half of this year. So crying poverty won't play.
CEO pay is predicated on the company doing well. Base pay is relatively small. Union workers also get profit sharing which was close to 13k. The union wanted 10% a year which comes to over 40% during the contract, more holiday, 32 hr work week while being paid for 40, defined pension, cola. Thats a pretty big ask.
It's a negotiating position. Just like the big threes 10% offer. Ford CEO Jim Farley earned $21 million in total compensation last year, the Detroit News reported, while Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares made $24.8 million, accordingto the Detroit Free Press (Stellantis, which was formed in 2021 in a merger between Fiat Chrysler and European automaker Groupe PSA, owns Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and RAM, along with major foreign brands including Citroën, Peugeot and Maserati.) GM CEO Mary Barras earned nearly $29 million in 2022 pay, Automotive News reported. Overall CEO pay at the Big Three companies rose 40% from 2013 to 2022, according to EPI. Barras makes 362 times more than the typical GM worker, while Tavares makes 365 times more, according to company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Farley at Ford makes 281 times more, filings show.
those number mean they coul have given a couple thousand employees really nice raises instead of just paying off the CEOs, and that doesn't include the huge salaries of the rest of the top brass.
I went to college with Mary Barra but I never knew her. To say we're in different tax brackets is a bit of an understatement. I take no issue in these CEO's make top dollar, just like their counterparts all across many types of industry. It's all part of how capitalism works. The cream rises to the top. Now on the other hand, pro athletes, Hollywood, etc seem to make incredible amounts of coin for producing entertainment. I think that's where the pay scale is totally lopsided, but again, that's how it works.
That Mary Barra gave some questionable answers under oath referencing that horrific ignition switch debacle that claimed more than a few lives. Waiting 10 years to recall those POS's. Be honest-the cars were not expected to be in service that long. Terrible
I always find it interesting that people pile on CEO's. ( I think they are overpaid) but never say a word about professional athletes or movie stars. LeBron made almost 45 million this year, but nary a word about the fact that the person delivering beer at the games probably gets minimum wage. How much do the support people at Taylor swift event make. Why are they exempt from the discourse. BTW Barra's pay actually went down year to year.
Di Niro gets Dineros and he really ain't a "Family Guy"... My cat is a better tough guy, and he's a pussy.
Pro Athletes are the products that produce a billion dollar industry. Trying to call them out is joke. The team owners are the ones who make the most by many orders of magnitude.
The ignition switch thing was something that could go both ways. On one hand, it’s dangerous to have an ignition switch that could be turned off by accidentally bumping the keychain, but in most instances I think the drivers had heavy, big dangly chains with lots of stuff on them, hanging far below the switch itself. That, along with things like ‘don’t hang your purse from the column lever’, ‘don’t flop floormats over the pedals’, and ‘pay attention when you’re behind the controls’ all fall under operator responsibility. Patrick
I thought when I retired 32 years ago , My pension was great . Now , my granddaughter (16) makes more per hour selling steamed sea food at a crab house then I did , But I feel that I am still be better off in the long haul then these poor kids today . TUFF WORLD OUT THERE !!!!!! Bill
