Where UAW, Detroit Three automakers stand on key issues
Detroit — Amid a historic United Auto Workers strike of plants at each of the three Detroit automakers, negotiations between the union and the companies continue.
There are 34,000 UAW members on strike of 146,000 total at the Detroit Three. Workers at three plants — Stellantis NV's Toledo Assembly Complex, General Motors Co.'s Wentzville Assembly Plant and the final assembly and paint portions of Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Assembly Plant — went on strike on Sept. 15. Workers at 38 parts distribution centers operated by GM and Stellantis' Mopar division joined them on Sept. 22, followed by employees at GM's Lansing Delta Township Assembly Plant and Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant on Sept. 29, and Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant on Oct. 11.
Union leaders have said that more plants will be called out on strike if deemed necessary, in what they're calling a "stand-up strike."
Ford employs the most UAW members — about 57,000. GM has about 46,000 UAW-represented employees. There are approximately 43,000 Stellantis workers in the UAW.
The companies say they have put forward "record" and "historic" offers to the union, while the UAW says it wants to see the return of benefits and compensation that were bargained away during the Great Recession.
Here's a breakdown of where things stand on key economic proposals, according to information that's been reported to date.
Wages
• The UAW initially proposed 46% wage increases over the length of the contract (40% when not compounded). A subsequent offer decreased that to 36% not compounded.
• Ford boosted its wage increase offer to 23% not compounded by April 2028, UAW President Shawn Fain said Oct. 6. The automaker says it includes a double-digit raise upon ratification.
• GM's latest offer would give its hourly employees a 23% general wage increase for a 25% compounded boost over the life of the pact. Under the new offer, a GM hourly employee represented by the UAW would make $40.39 per hour by the end of the agreement, up from $32.32 currently.
• Stellantis has proposed 21.4% in raises (20% not compounded). That breaks down to 10% in the first year, followed by 2.5% in each of the succeeding years. That would bring full-time workers to a top wage of $38.58 per hour by the end of the contract, approximately $80,000 annually, and Mopar employees to $38.34 per hour with the elimination of tiers within its parts distribution center.
• Fain said Oct. 6 the union was seeking a $2 per hour tool allowance for skilled trades workers. Ford has agreed to $1.50 per hour. Stellantis is at $1 per hour. "GM is still refusing to budge," Fain said.
Tiers
• The UAW has proposed eliminating a system under which newer hires make lower wages and have fewer benefits than longer-tenured employees. The union is proposing a 90-day progression period to the top of the wage scale.
• Stellantis has agreed to decrease the progression to the top wage to four years, down from eight, while Ford has agreed to reduce the progression to three years, according to the union. Ford said under its Oct. 3 offer, the average new hire would be earning six figures by their fourth year. GM its Oct. 20 offer to the UAW provides a "faster path to max wages" from the previous four-year progression it offered.
• Ford has proposed paying workers at Rawsonville Components and Sterling Axle at the same wage scale as employees at its assembly plants, according to the union.
• GM has proposed paying workers at GM Components Holdings LLC and Customer Care and Aftersales parts distribution centers the same as assembly plant workers, according to the union.
• Stellantis has proposed "continued substandard pay" at its Mopar parts distribution centers, according to the union, though the company's offer ends the wage tier at those facilities, the company had said. By the end of the contract, Mopar employees would receive $38.34 per hour, or about $79,700 annually.
Cost-of-living adjustments
• The UAW is seeking the restoration of cost-of-living adjustments, a benefit that was suspended in 2009. It's demanding a COLA that would boost workers' base wage rate based on the federal inflation index.
• Ford and Stellantis have agreed to restore the suspended COLA formula from 2009. Stellantis says COLA would be calculated every quarter, added to every hour earned and included in weekly paychecks.
• On Oct. 6, Fain said GM wasn't far behind the Ford and Stellantis offers. GM said on Oct. 20 its offer included COLA for team members at top wages starting in year one of a contract.
Profit sharing
• The UAW has proposed an "enhanced" profit-sharing formula that would give workers $2 for every $1 million spent on share buybacks, special dividends and increases to normal dividends.
• An "enhanced" profit-sharing formula from Ford would have resulted in a 13.3% increase in payouts last year, according to the union. The bonuses also would be extended to temporary employees with at least 90 days of employment.
• The union says GM and Stellantis have rejected its proposal.
• GM is offering profit sharing for all temporary workers with 1,000 hours worked.
• Stellantis says its offer would "maintain current competitive profit-sharing," which resulted in $44,000 to workers over the past four years, including $14,760 for 2022.
Temporary workers
• The UAW wants temporary and supplemental workers the automakers employ to cover absences to convert to full time after 90 days, receiving full benefits and profit sharing.
• Ford has offered a $21 per hour wage for temps, a 26% increase. It also has proposed converting all current temps with 90 days of continuous service to full-time in-progression.
• Stellantis has suggested a $20 per hour starting wage for temps and supplementals. Fain says the automakers have made commitments on converting them to full-time. GM says active full-time temps with one year of employment would be converted immediately to step one of the four-year progression to the top wage upon ratification.
• GM in its Oct. 20 offer said it would increase temp wages by 26% to $21 per hour. It will also convert full-time temps with one year of employment to seniority employment upon ratification.
Job security
• The UAW wants to bring back the jobs bank under the "Working Family Protection Program" that would pay laid-off workers for community service. It also is seeking the right to strike over plant closures.
• Ford says it has made product commitments for every UAW-represented plant in the United States and says "none of our employees, including powertrain employees, will lose their jobs due to our battery plants during this contract period."
• Ford has agreed to give workers the right to strike over plant closures, according to the union as of Sept. 22. In the event of an indefinite layoff, it has offered income security for up to two years with health care for all employees, including temporary workers, with at least 90 day of experience. Ford says its Oct. 3 proposal has offered income protection "for all permanent employees."
• GM says it has committed to continue work for all manufacturing and warehousing sites. The union has said the Detroit automaker has agreed to include joint-venture electric-vehicle battery manufacturing employees in its master agreement, though details weren't available.
• Stellantis has agreed to provide the right for UAW members not to cross a picket line, the right to strike over product allocation and plant closures, and an outsourcing moratorium.
• The union previously estimated Stellantis' proposal would eliminate 5,400 jobs across its footprint, though since then, there has been greater allocation to protect powertrain workers jobs. The UAW has said the company is looking to close and/or sell 18 facilities. That includes its North American headquarters and technical center in Auburn Hills, Trenton Engine Complex, Tipton Transmission and 10 Mopar facilities, according to sources.
• It also includes the idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, though the union says Stellantis wants to use that site for a new battery plant to open in 2028, resume use of the stamping plant there and create a parts distribution hub there. The union still would like to see vehicle assembly there. Stellantis says the parties "have discussed various solutions to address job security for all of our employees, including those in Belvidere."
• The automaker says it's seeking to optimize and modernize its parts distribution footprint and underutilized facilities. The changes wouldn't result in job reductions in Mopar.
• It also said it has proposed "several vehicle allocations and billions of dollars in investments over the duration of the contract" and offered "workforce stability with a relevant level of production in U.S. during the duration of the contract." It added that the supplemental unemployment benefits provided to displaced employees are "above and beyond what employers normally provide."
Quality of life
• The UAW has sought a number of proposals tied to "work-life balance," including shortening the work week to 32 hours with 40 hours' pay. The companies have rejected that proposal, and the union's chief negotiator at Stellantis says the proposal has been withdrawn there.
• All three companies are offering Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
• Ford and GM are offering two weeks of paid parental leave.
• Ford and GM say their offers include up to five weeks of vacation.
• Ford's Oct. 3 offer includes two family days.
Retiree benefits
• The UAW has sought increases in retiree pay.
• GM says it has increased company 401(k) contributions to 8% from 6.4% for active in-progression employees. It also is contributing a $1,000 payment to active traditional employees' defined contribution plan. GM is increasing the basic benefit rate in the traditional team member pension plan by 5% for future service.
• Ford says its Oct. 3 offer includes increased 401(k) contributions so that an average employee hired can accrue a more than $1 million retirement fund with reasonable market returns.
• Stellantis says it has offered more than $1 billion in "funding and improvements" to the pension and retirement savings plans for both current employees and retirees.
Health care
• The UAW demands retirement health-care benefits be extended to all workers.
• The union says the automakers have rejected that proposal.
• GM says there would be "no change to premiums for world-class healthcare." Additionally, it has proposed increasing contributions for health care in retirement to $1.25 per hour from $1 for active in-progression employees.
• Ford says health-care benefits would continue to rank in the top 1% of employer-sponsored medical plans for lowest employee cost-sharing, and there would be no change to the $0 premiums.
• Stellantis says its offer includes "world class health care plans" that carry no monthly premium.
Battery plants
• GM agreed to Oct. 6 include joint-venture battery manufacturing workers in its master agreement, meeting a key union demand. The UAW expects the other two companies to follow, despite not yet having a battery plant up and running in the United States.