As a tense standoff between the United Auto Workers union or UAW and the Big Three automakers continues over the terms of contract renewal, GM President Mark Reuss and GM Executive Vice President, Global Manufacturing and Sustainability Gerald Johnson said the automaker has received almost 1,000 demands from the union.
Talking in a recent video, the pair also noted that the UAW has been pressuring GM and the other Big Three members – Ford and Stellantis – to make costly and potentially damaging concessions.
Mark Reuss
Speaking in the video posted on the GM contract negotiation website, Reuss and Johnson provided an overview of the current state of negotiations and GM’s viewpoint on the process. Reuss opened the video by pointing out many GM workers who are UAW members may not fully understand the negotiation process, since about a fifth of them were hired since the previous contract talks.
Reuss remarked that GM has “a long history of achieving fair agreements without a strike,” to which Johnson responded that the previous 2019 negotiations did result in a strike he said harmed UAW members, GM, and customers. As a result, he said, “we are working hard to resolve the nearly 1,000 demands we received from the union.”
Johnson also stated that the automaker has “received numerous presidential demands with significant costs attached that would threaten our ability to maintain our manufacturing momentum.” He did not specific exactly what UAW President Shawn Fain’s demands entailed.
Gerald Johnson
The two executives’ statements echoed in more general terms the claim by former Cadillac head Johan de Nysschen that meeting UAW demands – including a 46 percent pay raise and a 32-hour work week – would bankrupt GM and other Big Three companies.
Meanwhile, the UAW says it might call an unprecedented simultaneous strike across all three major automakers if they fail to meet its major demands by the rapidly approaching September 14th deadline. The union president Shawn Fain claims workers received only below-inflation, 3 percent raises over the past several years while GM and the other companies earned “record” profits.
Shawn Fain
President Joe Biden has also made his opinion on the matter public, expressing confidence that a UAW strike won’t happen – an assertion Shawn Fain scoffed at, remarking “he must know something we don’t know.”
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM-related political news, GM-related UAW news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
The new UAW president looks like a beta male that is trying to flex is so call “powers.” But in the end- he will fail, just like all beta males in their marriages.
Go to Beaverhead57 on Twitter fools
He looks like one of those scammy TV preachers just out for everyone’s money instead of their goodness.
Maybe they should just move the rest of their production to China and Mexico and be done with these guys.
Right…because GM isn’t having any issues whatsoever with the auto workers in Mexico and their union desires down there.
That’s a fkn lie…the cartels run the unions and the workers have no say so in the matter
I’d be prouder to drive a union made truck if I knew that part of my purchase price wasn’t going to support the Democrat politicians and their poor economic policies, many at direct contradiction with the wellbeing of the workforce (globalist policies, climate hoax, soaring inflation, etc).
The union workforce should receive a fair wage, indexed for their skills and what they bring to the table, along with a share of the record-breaking profits of the last few years. Manual labor should be thought of higher in this county, instead of being treated as “replaceable by moving production to Mexico”. That said, the contract needs to be fair as well to the providers of capital (GM shareholders).
Time for the workers to sit down with management. Both party’s need to find honest trust with honest negotiations and honest trust with management. Look every worker sold themselves to HR to do the job. HR believe in you and hired you. That is trust. That is what needs to be back in our lives. What you guys get on strike out of the Union and you approve of it,, sends a signal you can live off that. People, you are the Union, you do not need other people talking for you. Sell yourself again to HR and will be getting a raise dumping the Union from dues. Just imagine this workers, the Company does not have to deduct your dues. Imagine your shop Stewart collecting dues, and how many people would say, I short this month I’ll catch you next month. Well you are not stupid and you know how next month will be,,, Oh,, I forgot.
That was my wish back in the 70’s and look where it got us, almost nothing made in the US anymore.
Maybe you should just move out of your parents basement and get a job at an auto assembly plant where you can truly experience the non stop repetitive tasks and injuries that are very well known to health professionals before you despise working Americans who are attempting to secure a better standard of living. There’s a very valid reason why auto companies cant find/keep enough employees today despite individuals such as yourself assuming the fallacy that all UAW workers have it made and are easily replaceable.
How do you justify a new union non- experienced employee starting at just under 6 figures per year while non- experienced college grads start at 20% less than that?
Union auto workers on average only make about 34 dollars an hour. NOT 6 figures.
im sure the bulk of those are things like stocking my fave snacks in the vending machines
997 of those demands are not the issue of contention
pay
workhours
retirement
are the 3 they cannot agree on
The claim that meeting union demand would bankrupt the big 3 is bull$hit. What it would do is effect their position on the stock market so they wouldn’t be as profitable lord know 21 billion in profits isn’t nearly enough.
Let me strike. I could care less.
Here’s a little insight for you. Stellantis where I work as a skilled tradesmen making 40% less per hour than the local union in the same trade brought in $415,903.55 per second in revenue in the first 6 months of this year. That’s every second of every day for 6 months.
Resulting in net income of $46,169.10 per second. Again… Every second of every day for 6 months. $109,000,000,000 revenue. 12,100,000,000. Lots of zeros… do the math.
Leave Stellantis and go to work for the local union.
Why should I have to leave my job that I’ve been at for 25 yrs? All I want is a fair contract. I’m not asking for what the outside union is making.. My point is the companies can afford to be fair. I’m sure most people get, what between 2% and 5% raise a year? That doesn’t happen here. At best 3% every other year. Some contracts had no raises. And I’m sure people will talk profit sharing.. yeah that’s been great the last two years… We went years and years with none. It easy to comment from the outside when you have no idea what your talking about.
Auto laborers working in factories do not deserve $100k/yr paychecks.
Work 7 days a week and holidays at your job and see what you make. Working here is like having 2 jobs.
Why should auto workers (those that stick emblems on tailgates, tighten lugnuts on wheels, install headlights, etc) be demanding more pay than say a first responder, firefighter, police officer, nurse that is on call 24/7? The sense of entitlement and greed is apparent. Plus, no UAW worker ever mentions the record profit-sharing checks that they receive…they only spew the hourly wage, not the benefits or bonuses they receive.
I take it you’ve never been in an auto plant let alone worked in one.
Why are you worried about what we make worry about yourself we don’t comment on what you make make what you can and let us make what we can it’s none of your business stop being jealous
Depends on what you do in that Factory if you are somebody that is skilled trades that comes at a premium for the labor it’s not that you’re paying somebody for their physical ability you’re paying them for the knowledge they have
Thats a lie. The only way an auto worker makes 100k is if they work 52 weekends and all holidays. The Media is full of it.
I don’t know where you’re getting this math. First half results below
Revenue: 98.4 Billion (EUR)
Net Profit: 10.9 Billion (EUR)
Seconds in 6 months: 6 months x 30 days x 24 hrs x 60 minutes x 60 seconds = 15,552,000
Revenue/second: 6,327.16 EUR / second
Net Profit/second: 700.87 EUR / second
USD is a little stronger than the Euro right now, call it $750/second profit
I apologize Ryan you are correct… That should have said minute. Also I’m talking dollars not euros for context. That being said if a company like Stellantis with roughly 30,000 union employees with an average all in package of let’s say $150,000 a year with benefits for the sake of argument. It takes them just over 1 month to pay off the workers for a 4 year contract correct? And still make $12.1 billion us dollars in half a year. So if that profit were to stay that way for the whole contract it would equate to nearly $100 billion in net profit for a 4 year contract. Those number are from the Detroit news. Even if they are off… Call it $90 billion profit in 4 years.
Labor is only a fraction of overall overhead however. Normally a company nets less than 10% of their gross profits. If they can save 10% on labor, that adds a huge chunk into thier bottom line despite spending lots of their overhead on electricity/raw materials/facilities.
We wouldn’t be in this situation if companies would just do the right thing and stop being so greedy. When it costs 3% of your expense per vehicle to provide the labor to build it that’s is exceptionally low. The irony is they big 3 could pay double what we are asking and still make record profits.
They never gave back what was conceded in the bankruptcy and was never supposed to take 10 years to get. The big 3 have caused all this animosity.
What if we could have, like, a free market for labor?
It does not help gm’s cause either when they build most of their CUVs sold on the US in South Korea, Mexico, and China. I’m sure this would be pointed out if GM needed another bailout.
I’m not on the side of either the UAW or the automakers but if they strike, I’ll be shedding crocodile tears.
Labor costs are 3.5% including benefits that means they’re getting a $40,000 car assembled for $1,500 wow what a deal
I’ve paid $1,500 to have brakes and rotors put on my vehicles
Thats just finnal assembly. Doesn’t count raw materials, engine/tranny assembly/the power bill, maintenance department/etc. profit margins on CUV’s/Sedans is also that 1500/unit so you double that or wipe it out and your company goes bankrupt. Remember gross vs net profits. True their getting almost 10K per SUV and truck, but the rest of their sales thier doing good to get over 1500/unit.
LOL, you forgot about the cost of all of the parts, engineering, and plant overheads which make up the other 96% +or-.
Really? Where? I’m getting ready to replace brakes on my Silverado this Fall and top quality pads and rotors are about $400 and it will take me less than 4 hours to do it on aSaturday afternoon.
It would be interesting to know how many contract demands were made historically at the start of similar negotiations. Or how this compares to non-UAW negotiations.
Something to really provide some perspective. As it is, the number seems extraordinary but there really is no context.
Why are you worried about what we make worry about yourself we don’t comment on what you make make what you can and let us make what we can it’s none of your business stop being jealous
It’s the car buying public that is getting raped. Why not lower the price of their products, and give UAW a modest raise.
Also, bring the manufacturing back to the States. There is no reason the auto makers should be making 20 billion dollars profit in the first six months of the year.
Corporations actually save money on production building stateside. Research how much it costs to build cars in europe/korea/brazil labor wise. The difference is other countries lock us out and wont let us sell our product overseas if a certain % isnt made in their country. Then theres the fact that china has no regulations nor lawsuits. The american worker is by far more efficient…. Well that is till a union boss tells them to work slower because their making other workers look bad.
Well do I lay off 5 UAW workers or 6?
You’ve got to ask yourself one question: ‘Do I feel lucky?’ Well do ya, punk?”
If they can afford to give 40% raises to themselves, surely they can afford to pay their workers a living wage! Greed at its finest!!
They are so out of touch with reality, they don’t even know what’s it’s like to survive in the real world. 1 of their bonuses works pay for everything the workers are asking for… shameful
If you cannot live on $20+ per hour, not including the large yearly profit sharing checks, then you are doing something wrong…typical greedy UAW math.
$20.00 per hour is barely a living wage if your home is paid for and the kids are grown and on their own. What a miserable existence for those who still have all those bills to pay. Welcome to your double wide trailer, your 10 year old car, and a McDonalds burger for your once a month big evening out.
I don’t hear anything about moving other union jobs to Mexico…..teachers, firefighters, police officers, government employees, railway workers, engineers unions and the list goes on and on
You seem to forget the overpaid executive level personnel, starting with the CEOs.
Anyone else notice how the UAW president’s name sounds like a radical Irish political party? Just sayin’…😉
Maybe the ceo’s need to take a pay cut right along with the overpaid lazy workers they already make enough and they want to work 32 hours and get paid for 40 that shows how lazy they are there the reason cars and trucks cost so much
Replace everyone on strike with workers who really want to work you can’t expect huge pay increases an benefits while at the same time have GM ,chrysler an Fords poor quality vehicles not to mention the cost of the vehicles which are at record highs now would be even higher that will affect all of the automakers suppliers and their end customers if they are really needing the money don’t pay the union put it in your pocket so by paying union dues I assume you make enough to make ends meet like anything else in life if money’s tight you cut out union dues as an example when money’s tight you tighten up
Educate yourself about the situation cars are at record high every year they never get cheaper sounds to me like you’re more jealous than anything maybe you should apply and bust your butt for 30 years barely being able to bend over after it’s all done back’s all screwed up knees are shot feet hurt all the time barely move your wrists or close your hand how does that sound to you would you like to do that job for money that’s not appropriate you have no idea what you’re talking about stick to the paperwork in the office or flipping the burgers or putting the fries in the deep fryer stay in your lane
All you folks seem to want to do is bad-mouth each other. The high cost of vehicles is not caused by union labor. It is caused by manufacturers executive level employees getting paid more than they are worth. For GMers, that anyone over an 8th level. Any classified employee in management is getting screwed as bad as the hourly folks. The main difference is that hourly has the union. Classified salary has no one.