GM made a final offer to the UAW union on Thursday as contract negotiations came down to the wire before the 11:59 PM deadline on September 14th in an effort to avert expected strikes.
The UAW rejected the GM offer and launched its Stand Up Strike at the GM Wentzville plant in Missouri, along with one plant each from Ford and Stellantis on Friday morning, but the details of The General’s proposal give a detailed picture of what terms the automaker may proffer going forward.
In answer to the UAW’s demands for a 46-percent increase in wages, GM upped its initial offer of a 16-percent raise to 20 percent. The first year of the new contract would include a 10-percent wage hike with the other 10 percent spread out over the life of the new contract. Wages for temporary workers would rise to $20 hourly.
GM also offered a quicker rise to maximum wages, reducing the time needed for progression from the current 8 years to 4 years. Maximum wage earners would also be shielded from the effects of inflation by cost-of-living protection, though apparently COLA would not apply to other wage tiers.
As for other benefits, GM offered a freeze on health insurance premiums, offering the same coverage without increases during the life of the contract. The associated retirement healthcare contribution would be increased by 25 percent. The offer also included a “retirement security” clause providing a contribution plan giving $1,000 to “active traditional employees” and $500 to retirees.
Under “work-life balance,” GM offered up to five weeks of vacation annually, plus two weeks of paid maternal leave and the Juneteenth holiday as a day off. The General also said it would provide “job security” in the form of “continuing work for all manufacturing and warehousing sites.”
GM also asserted “we have been bargaining in good faith to deliver a package with historic wage increases and manufacturing commitments, recognizing your contributions to our company.” The automaker also said it was trying to address worker concerns “in spite of the heated rhetoric from UAW leadership.”
For its part, the UAW also modified its demands at the last moment. The union initially asked for a 20-percent wage boost immediately effective once the new contract was ratified, with a 5-percent yearly increase over the next four years to achieve a compounded 46-percent raise by 2027. It cut this to 36 percent, according to at least one knowledgeable source.
Earlier, UAW president Shawn Fain issued a statement characterizing GM’s offer of a total 16-percent raise over the next four years as “an insulting proposal that doesn’t come close to an equitable agreement for America’s autoworkers.”
While the concessions by both sides moved the wage increases proposed by each closer to one another, an agreement could not be reached. The UAW rejected the offer and acted on the strike authorization voted on by union members a month ago, with more strikes potentially to follow.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM-related UAW news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
UAW should accept that offer in an instant. Thats a really good offer the fact that their using similar retoric and tactics as Antifa is concerning. I wouldnt be supprised if theres a prolonged strike and GM pulls their offer.
A generous offer but UAW vill never be satisfied , perhaps the employees should learn how to manage their money. Imagine every union getting a contract like this what happens when the dollar is worth 40 % less ?
Greed has its cost.
What is even worst that with more Robots along with AI aggressively making it’s presence known globally, these type of negotiations within the foreseeable future will eventually become a thing of the past as these type of cost-effective measures will push the Base Level Employees out if job, while saving companies the expenses of Healthcare Benefits, Paid Sick and Vacation Leave time off , higher Labor Cost and requested Paid Raises through the UAW, Though a Pay Raise is good for these workers, Robotic and AI technology will eventually put these individuals out of work, it’s going to happen.
The perfect example why an education is so important! Nothing stays the same. There was once a time when generations of the same family did the same job. Those days are gone. You either stay up with the times or get left behind.
The first offer was 3% bonuses in 2 years of the contract-or 2.5% for 4.5yrs. And 10% incremental for others.with a reduction in profit sharing of 30%, and the removal of 1500 other bonuses. For a gain of maybe 11% optimally and 8% if there are lean years( like if your plant closes for a year of retooling. Since 2007 UAW has had 2-1$/hr raises to help GM survive/thrive. Yes the profut share checks look great on paper( less 45% federal taxes and 2.5% for the uaw) they are still 2.5$/hour after taxes but that is not a raise when 20-30% of membership has been excluded from some or all over the last 4 years by COVID lockdowns and chip shortages.
This is going to be interesting to watch play out.
It’s going to backfire on oneside in the future..
Will it back fire on the big 3. Who is thinking long term, with the government and some states. pushing ICE vehicles out with mandatory Climate change laws. And then whole EV push.
Or will it back fire on the UAW. Who is thinking for the short term until next contract talks. Yes they need the COLA and more adjustments made for them dealing with previous years contracts they got. But with EV vehicles getting pushed. What does that do to the amount of people used to put a vehicle together? How much does that reduce it by? How’s the job security in these contracts? The UAW is not as big as they were. But they have a strong voice.
If both parties, the big 3 and UAW. Just need to have a good seat down with each other over some drinks after this is done and learn to fight together about the real issue. It’s the policies that the government and political parties let happen to push their ideas in to place. Like moving to fast on EV’s, more dependency on foreign raw materials, and not controlling inflation quickly enough when the writing was on the wall.
PS. I hate when political figures show up at a strike for photos. Bunch of two face lairs that do insider trading and say they are for the working class but really in it for them self to make them more money.
“But with EV vehicles getting pushed. What does that do to the amount of people used to put a vehicle together?…..Bingo! You’ve stumbled onto the crux of the situation. The Big 3 in the near future will hire 1 individual to replace 3 that retire because you no longer need as many people to build an EV vehicle, and why the UAW is bargaining for job security provisions in this contract. But if anyone thinks that less people will automatically translate into lower prices on vehicles, you’re delusional. BTW, the geriatric puppet in the WH is pushing the whole EV transition because his leftist handlers are pushing him too despite the FACT that there is a total lack of infrastructure in place to support the transition, and is still many, many years away.
He and his Leftist handlers are profiting from this; otherwise, they wouldn’t do it. Most likely getting kick backs from China into foreign shell companies. China wants to rule the auto world and has been subsidizing their domestic companies to go electric hard. China controls the world’s rare earth materials and is a failure with ICE autos; thus, this is the only thing that makes sense. And being a good Democrat, Mary is going along with it.
Legacy auto is in deep doo doo.
The UAW may get credit for finishing off the economy. If that’s happens? They may feel the wrath of the consumer for years to come. Japan and Korea may benefit in the long run.
More like the 81 million who voted for President Biden. The real problem. The consumers should decide what they buy without a government bribe. Must be true because the media keeps telling us no voter fraud. Thanks to Bidenomics we all need a raise.
That’s right, higher Labor Costs gets pushed down to the consumer; further pricing out those in need of new vehicle.
)
Then don’t buy one. It’s that simple. If you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. That is the one thing the market understands. Not buying something forces the market to respond accordingly. If you understand that concept, then try not buying conservative BS. That will stop that, too.
The market doesn’t care that people don’t buy .They have three or four price increases every year for this crap they build it does nothing but raise prices on used cars that are worn out hope the strike is permanent
Oh yes lets build cars in China with slave labor. That is the GM plan. But please tell me more how unions supporting the working class is so bad. Please go back to your Rich programmers on talk radio and they will tell you what to think!
If you believe that people should make $60 per hour to attach a car door, that is certainly your right. If GM, or any other car manufacturer, can find cheaper labor, they will do so. There is a reason why countless union bosses are doing long federal prison terms. Collecting union dues and misappropriating millions of dollars on themselves and their crony friends has consequences.
The news only prints what they want you to believe . The membership will only know the fine print of the contract after ratification , don’t believe that everything comes freely with contracts , just saying .
This plays right into Toyotas hand. The nonunion car companies (import) will take even more market share . My family has bought all GM for my 64 years on this planet but my brother bought 2 toyotas because of his disdain for the unions. This is not a good look for them ! The unions are destroying the USA . the Gov employee unions are even worse because there is no one willing to fight for the tax payer . Eventually the economy under dem rule will collapse and with it the outdated union concept.
People at Walmart, Amazon, etc don’t need a union? Toyota and the other non-union plants will need to raise their pay and benefits to keep their people from going union.
Your brother is a class traitor. Unless he’s a billionaire.
Yup and and their 3.6 truck engines dying at 15k miles lofl
Sounds like a fair offer to me.
Go on strike who cares just like yellow freight the unions have ruined this country with their greed it’s never enough like the mafia dictating how a company can run get rid of them all
Your billionaire oligarchs thank you for your support.
Here are some “truths”. 1. In general, corporate/management compensation in respect to the worker on the factory floor is way out of whack. GM Mary gets 262 times what the UAW top tier worker gets. And for what? When it comes to executive compensation, it’s an “old boy’s club”, with no real world accountability. 2. The EV transition will only progress at the same rate of charging station availability. It will be slow and painful. 3. The ” American dream” has been slipping away for decades. The current tax code is the most favorable to the upper 1% in all of history. 4. We cannot afford to have “sacred cow” government expenditures. Medicare and Social Security can be fixed with better tax policy. All programs need to undergo cost/benefit analyses to get the desired result at the lowest cost. It is absolutely stupid not to increase IRS funding to go after big bucks tax cheats, when an investment of 10 cents will yield a dollar of increased revenue, which is lawfully owed. 5. A well regulated capitalist system that benefits everyone is in our collective best interests.
People here get $20 an hour working at McDonald’s. Older retirees here apparently don’t realize how worthless the $USD is lately. Mary Barra is just another WAY overpaid executive. I’m of a conservative mindset….
JESUS told a parable about how a worker , – in some people’s view – was paid too much…. Jesus said “The Worker is Worthy of his Wages.”
A few of you started to figure it out but then you fell flat on your faces by trying to blame government. The UAW has a point with all the money that GM is paying their executives. None of that gets to the level of the working stiff. The executive levels of all 3 are grossly overpaid for what they do, and that is grabbing more of the pie for themselves. The UAW didn’t raise vehicle prices so high lately. That was Mary and her cronies. Now the Union finally woke up to what was happening to them. An even bigger problem is the fool that pays this much for a vehicle with a bunch of crap on it that they don’t need. Fancy screens, dvd systems, Wi-Fi, none of which belongs in a vehicle to begin with. All that does is add to the price and profit. The driving public has created their own problem.
Honestly more curious about the proposed 32 hour work week. That’s a bigger deal than pay raises, IMO. If UAW can swing that other unions will push for it.
The current 40 hour week is thanks to Unions and in more civilized parts of the world, the standard is 35 hour work week.
Companies can either make up for the hours with overtime or hiring more people, but the studies show that 32hour work weeks result in higher productivity that makes up for the lost 8 hours.
Based on scientific data, they really should be pushing for 1 year of paid parental leave.
Having at least one parent home for the first year of a child’s life has shown massive improvements to the overall quality of life and success for the child. Being a better contributor to society and having better health, educational, and income outcomes.
Again, other parts of the world do this, and the US is far behind.
The offer is good and the union should take it and let’s move on. I got a 1.5% raise this year, while inflation is at 17%. This union is good and they should accept a fair offer and count their blessings.
And I’m sure the cost of building my 2024 Camaro will go up! The consumer is really the person who gets screwed after all this.
Maybe you should be more conscientious and work harder so you get a better raise. Maybe you should buy a used car instead of a new Camaro so you won’t be in debt.
The UAW wants a 46% increase plus 40 hours pay for 32 hours work. That has an effective rate of 82.5% increase. Absolutely insane. With that mentality, let’s make the minimum wage $100 per hour. Unbelievable.