Even before the dust has settled from the contentious negotiations between the UAW and the Detroit Three automakers, Honda has decided to give its American workers an 11 percent pay raise to accompany the various other benefits they have received.
The 11 percent boost is the same as the initial wage increase given to GM, Ford, and Stellantis workers under the tentative agreement reached last weekend, Automotive News points out.
Honda, which operates a dozen manufacturing facilities in the U.S., will implement the pay raise in January 2024 for production workers at its plants. In a move echoing some other companies the Japanese-headquartered automaker is also halving the length of its wage progression. This reduces the time of employment needed to reach higher wage tiers from the previous six years to a new three-year schedule.
A Honda representative is continuing “to look for opportunities” that will allow it to offer “an excellent employment experience for Honda associates.” The rep did not give any additional indication on whether the pay boost and accelerated timetable were prompted by the UAW’s success in extracting concessions from the Big Three.
A few days ago, Toyota also increased its hourly worker wages, planning a 9.2-percent addition to pay. Notably, the raise was the third pay increase for 2023, an unprecedented step by Toyota, which ordinarily increases worker compensation twice per year by much smaller amounts. The company also reduced the time to reach top wage tiers from eight year to four years.
The pay hikes come after the UAW GM Council approved a tentative agreement with The General on the first Saturday in November. UAW president Shawn Fain took a pugnacious tone, stating that “we need to organize the unorganized” and naming Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, Hyundai and Tesla as targets of a new strategy of “[spending] the next few years organizing auto workers across this country.”
However, even the considerable concessions won by Fain may not be enough to satisfy UAW members. The UAW workers at the GM Flint plant in Michigan rejected the new contract agreement during the ratification vote, and union members at several other plants have followed suit.
At this point, acceptance or rejection of the tentative agreement by the UAW rank-and-file remains too close to call.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM-related Honda news, GM business news, GM-related UAW news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
And the cycle continues with wageflation.
Something missing here is the average wage at Toyota/Honda plants – I believe they are non-union. Does anyone know the answer. Also, wonder how the new wages at the big 3 stack up against auto workers in Japan and Europe?
This news is interesting for the pay increases happened without a strike, I’m sure the increases at the big 3 that came about from the strike was the catalyst for Toyota’s/Honda’s action.
honda toyota etc are all union in japan and their originating countries
but this is the effect of unions. while so many cry here, now you see how a union increases pay for others too, indirectly. those screaming against them reap the benefits too.
My guess is that 75% of the workers are temps and they are not included.