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6 September, 1999The deadline for UAW negotiations with the Big Three automakers is one week away.
USA: The UAW's three-year contract with General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG, covering some 350,000 UAW members, expires at midnight on September 14. On-going negotiations between the union and the "Big Three" automakers began in mid-June.
With the deadline coming up in just one week, which if necessary could be extended, the union's president, Steve Yokich, was quoted as saying he was very encouraged by proposals submitted thus far. "I've been here a long time. It's the best first offers we've ever gotten from Chrysler and GM," he declared. Ford, the No. 2 automaker, with 101,000 production and skilled trades UAW workers, has not yet put a formal offer on the table.
GM and DaimlerChrysler proposals are including language which effectively guarantees lifetime employment for UAW members who reach a certain seniority level. The UAW president had stressed before talks began that job security was the No. 1 issue because the best wage and benefits package "won't mean anything if the jobs aren't there".
GM, the world's largest automaker, has also included a provision to hire "significant" numbers of new workers in the coming years and to build new vehicle models in unionised factories. It has also proposed a 2% wage increase in the first year of the three-year contract with a US$500 one-time payment, to be followed by a 3% increase in the second year, and a lump-sum payment of US$1,500 in the third year. A tradeoff, however, in GM's offer would include continued freedom for the company to shift parts-manufacturing jobs to outside companies and to introduce new production methods at unprofitable small-car plants.
No. 3 DaimlerChrysler is also offering wage increases, and union sources have been quoted as saying that its overall package was more generous than GM's.
Talks with Ford may become particularly delicate over the company's wish to spin off its large Visteon parts-making unit. The union believes that an independent Visteon, which is the No. 3 auto supplier in the world, could lower wages and reduce job security for its members, who make up 23,500 of the 101,000 UAW workers at Ford. A strike authorisation vote by UAW members at Ford was approved by a 96.4% majority in August, which would allow the union to call for industrial action if deemed necessary. Of the Big Three automakers, Ford traditionally maintains the best labour relations and has not faced a strike by the UAW in recent years.
1999 has seen record U.S. car and truck sales, leading to huge profits and considerable overtime. The UAW has not held a national strike during negotiations since 1976 but has used plant-level strikes as a bargaining tool.
With the deadline coming up in just one week, which if necessary could be extended, the union's president, Steve Yokich, was quoted as saying he was very encouraged by proposals submitted thus far. "I've been here a long time. It's the best first offers we've ever gotten from Chrysler and GM," he declared. Ford, the No. 2 automaker, with 101,000 production and skilled trades UAW workers, has not yet put a formal offer on the table.
GM and DaimlerChrysler proposals are including language which effectively guarantees lifetime employment for UAW members who reach a certain seniority level. The UAW president had stressed before talks began that job security was the No. 1 issue because the best wage and benefits package "won't mean anything if the jobs aren't there".
GM, the world's largest automaker, has also included a provision to hire "significant" numbers of new workers in the coming years and to build new vehicle models in unionised factories. It has also proposed a 2% wage increase in the first year of the three-year contract with a US$500 one-time payment, to be followed by a 3% increase in the second year, and a lump-sum payment of US$1,500 in the third year. A tradeoff, however, in GM's offer would include continued freedom for the company to shift parts-manufacturing jobs to outside companies and to introduce new production methods at unprofitable small-car plants.
No. 3 DaimlerChrysler is also offering wage increases, and union sources have been quoted as saying that its overall package was more generous than GM's.
Talks with Ford may become particularly delicate over the company's wish to spin off its large Visteon parts-making unit. The union believes that an independent Visteon, which is the No. 3 auto supplier in the world, could lower wages and reduce job security for its members, who make up 23,500 of the 101,000 UAW workers at Ford. A strike authorisation vote by UAW members at Ford was approved by a 96.4% majority in August, which would allow the union to call for industrial action if deemed necessary. Of the Big Three automakers, Ford traditionally maintains the best labour relations and has not faced a strike by the UAW in recent years.
1999 has seen record U.S. car and truck sales, leading to huge profits and considerable overtime. The UAW has not held a national strike during negotiations since 1976 but has used plant-level strikes as a bargaining tool.