As GM Authority was tirelessly following, the contract negotiations between General Motors and the UAW union ultimately resulted in a 25 percent wage increase over the life of the new agreement, among a bevy of other items. More recently, the impact of this contract has been felt outside of the unionized U.S. plants, with Tesla now announcing a wage bump across its U.S. facilities.
According to a report from Bloomberg, all Tesla U.S. production associates, material handlers and quality inspectors are to receive what Tesla calls a “market adjustment pay increase” to kick off the 2024 calendar year. Notably, it’s currently unknown exactly what this raise entails.
It’s worth noting that this development joins other pay raises from the likes of Subaru, Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota and Nissan.
As one may expect, the UAW is attempting to leverage its success with the Big Three contract negotiations against non-unionized automakers and factories to broaden its reach, and is looking to double the number of auto workers amongst its ranks.
That being said, past efforts have either been rejected by the workers themselves, or never made it to a vote at all. To that end, UAW President Shawn Fain has blamed these failures on past corruption within the union itself, coziness with bosses, and disadvantageous contracts. Now, with the precedent of managing the all-encompassing strikes at GM, Ford, and Stellantis, Fain believes the union has proven that it can handle anyone, including companies like Tesla.
Of course, Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been an open criticizer of unions, and instead points to cost-cutting efforts as a necessary avenue to make EVs more affordable for consumers.
Interestingly, some Tesla facilities have already formed UAW organizing committees, with the UAW itself committing to providing whatever resources these committees may need.
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Comments
Don’t forget Pain’s speech prior to the START of UAW negotiations with the big three. That the company the workers get their paychecks from were “enemy number 1.” The guy living large, siphoning off the workers income to enrich himself bloviating anyplace he could find a camera, about how the workers should hate their employer. In addition to promising the workers nearly double the increase they eventually got, plus a gluttonous larder of ridiculous demands that did not come to fruition.
Do you want to buy a car made by a worker who hates his / her employer?
His demands would have eventually ended union auto manufacturing in the US, while he retired to his (UAW gifted) multi million dollar “summer cottage” by Onaway MI, next to other past UAW presidents summer mansions. Why would any worker want to support someone who is hell-bent on eliminating their job?
You can agree or disagree on his tactics, but the guy got a huge wage increase for the union workers. Huge. And in order not for other automaker workers to suddenly want to unionize to get a bigger piece of the pie, the other guys including tesla gave the workers a big raise. Now do you really think those “other” companies would have given a raise to the workers if gm/f/st did not cave and give a raise?
It’s called compromise. You start big and end up where you want to be. No one expected to get a 40 percent raise plus everything else.
Except of course the nearly 50% of the gm workers who voted against the contract? Fain’s socialist agenda will drive more auto jobs from the US – as it did back in the 70’s and 80’s, which is very sad. Yes, Mary’s greedy compensation is sad too.
I would have preferred to see the workers bonus improved and worker pay tied to executive pay. Same % increase – after a much lower reset on the executive side.
But all that is history at this point. When the next downturn hits – very soon – thousands of UAW jobs will be permanently lost again – as in the past.
Short term gain for long term pain = Fain.
With Inflation as bad as it really is (if you disagree you have not been to a big box store, or grocery lately), these pay raises will merely break even , if not fall behind, by the end of the contract.
The COLA minimal amount is totally fanciful. Too bad the counterfeiting of cash is legal for the government. That is what makes the money worth less and less, with the corresponding decreasing productivity failing to hide it anymore.
If there was absolutely none, then prices would get more reasonable, and wages would rise.
Just think !!!! A Man could provide for his whole family, and the Wife would never need to work.
Oh yeah, that was typical during the 1950’s. I forgot.
The Union-hater snowflake Tesla mammas’ boys aren’t going to like this .