One of the "perks" to being a UAW member was higher salaries as compared to those at (import) factories. Now, according to the Detroit Free Press,
that may no longer be true, as foreign automakers are offering bonuses. So the old UAW argument of higher salaries going to UAW workers is no longer a selling point in terms of joining the UAW. For example, Toyota Motor Corp...
gave workers at its largest U.S. plant bonuses of $6,000 to $8,000, boosting the average pay at the Georgetown, Ky., plant to the equivalent of $30 an hour. That compares with a $27 hourly average for UAW workers, most of whom did not receive profit-sharing checks last year.
Full story here.
Image: Romain Blanquart/DFP
Full story here.
Image: Romain Blanquart/DFP
readerreader says:
10:01 AM, 01/31/07
Working hard for high pay? The horror!
chernysh says:
12:19 PM, 01/31/07
I wonder if that $27/hr includes the Soviet inspired JOBS bank?
firstwagon says:
12:49 PM, 01/31/07
Is that the one where people are paid to do nothing because an absurb contract says they can't be laid off?
readerreader says:
01:15 PM, 01/31/07
Yup! That's the one!
hondacura4 says:
03:20 PM, 01/31/07
I have family members that work at the Georgetown, Ky Toyota plant and I know some of them make about 60-65K a year. Toyota gives employees VERY nice bonuses twice a year (June/Dec) also. LP
driverdm says:
11:29 PM, 01/31/07
I think the article is deceptive in a way. Is doesn't give the total costs per hour per worker. The article just looks at pay per hour. What about the cost of the UAW workers $0 co-pay healthcare benefits or the job banks that continue to pay though work isn't being done. I think the article takes some information and not all and then paints a slant on things. I am not a domestic lover either by I am a financial analyst by day that analyzes numbers so I had to say something when I saw this.
Also, the Toyota workers are getting bonusses that bring their pay up. What is ludacrisly missing from the article is tha fact that that money is coming after the company's performance has been published for the year or by quarter. If Ford and GM were doing as well as Toyota, they'd pay bonuses too. If Toyota didn't do well a year, there wouldn't be any bonuses and the average pay would then drop far below the $27 per hour Detroit makers rate. That is unfair use of numbers in my opinion. You have to give a clear analysis. This article just isn't fair. The bonuses are not guaranteed compensation and can vary year to year. The article makes it sound like the pay of $30 per hour is guaranteed and consistent which it is not. Again if Toyota had a bad year in comparison to the banner years it has been having of late, pay would be well under the Union rate. With bonuses, higher sales, far more cash, etc. Toyota's rate per hour is now up where Detroit is. Conversly, with lower sales, lower cash, bankruptcy rumors, etc. Detroit makers are still forced to pay rates very compariable to the competition. There are two sides to every coin, let's just hope journalists get around to writing them next time.
radesoto says:
11:43 AM, 02/14/07
OK, Mr. Analyst, analyze this - Detroit automakers are loosing market share over the fact that Japanese automobiles cost about the same as Detroit’s, consume less and are 2 to 3 times more reliable... Oh! they also hold on to their value by 30% over Detroit’s finest.
Maybe, there is a direct connection between those results and the issuing of performance based incentives compared to assured compensation.
Management should be also held to same standards...