The current UAW strike doesn’t make a lot of sense. Yes, i’ll start with that. It’s a perfect example of extortion by an organization that has a leader on a mission. Mr. Fain has taken what he “believes” and want he thinks makes it fair into negotiations and is holding the big three automakers hostage. This isn’t a simple few percent raise, this is a 46% increase and working 32 hours and getting paid for 40. It has additional benefits, even for contract help. Realize these aren’t minimum wage employees he’s fighting for, These are folks that average over $30/Hr already and jobs that don’t have some of the educational requirements as those that make less. This union demand would have wages hit $85k+ for less productivity.
Mr. Fain doesn’t care about the companies and whether these demands can actually be met without major harm. He has convinced the membership that what is being asked is possible and i’ll call it hope rather than greed that keeps union employees from taking the offers that have been put forward already. Ford made a very good offer that was just dismissed. Take a look at the offer and see what you think. These details aren’t really presented in the news, so the rest of us are not informed at what kind of offers are being turned down. Here is what Ford put out recently.
You should look that over, but a few stand outs are the over 20% wage increase, with at least 10% immediately. The 4 year to six figures wage progression, the $0 health premiums, bigger retirement contributions, and even more time off. The also state that this would make employees among the top 25% of wage earners in America. There is a lot of value in there beyond wage, and turning this down is insane to me. This will have a ford regular employee with better benefits and wages than some managers with college degrees. I know, I know, vocation is a choice, but the common sense here will come out in my next article. It will bring out more of why this whole action hurts the rest of us, and maybe some of their own employees.