UAW Pans GM’s First Contract Offer

The UAW is not smiling. What team are we talking about?

In a letter today to its ~46,000 UAW employees at manufacturing plants, General Motors said it is offering a 10% wage increase for most, but not all employees. GM is also offering to recognize Juneteenth as a paid holiday making it 16 to 18 paid holidays per year. There will be a one-time $5500 ratification bonus as well. Current “entry-level in-progression employees” earn a 56% wage rate increase over the contract. Existing temporary employees will receive a 20% increase to a mere $20 per hour. The tier system to achieve the top labor rate is also eliminated. There are also two unequal, barely comprehensible inflation payments.

“After refusing to bargain in good faith for the past six weeks, only after having federal labor board charges filed against them, GM has come to the table with an insulting proposal that doesn’t come close to an equitable agreement for America’s autoworkers,” said Shawn Fain UAW President this morning. “GM either doesn’t care or isn’t listening when we say we need economic justice at GM by 11:59 pm on September 14th. The clock is ticking. Stop wasting our members’ time. Tick tock.”

The GM, Ford and Stellantis UAW contracts all expire at 11:59 pm on 14 September. GM did not post or acknowledge the offer letter on its Investor Relations website? (AutoInformed: Ford UAW Offer – Pay Increases, Tiers Gone. UAW says No; Labor Day – UAW Struggles Are Key to The American Dream)

“Our offer has been developed considering everything in our environment including competitor offers and what is important to our team members. It includes well-deserved wage improvements that far exceed the 2019 agreement. We still have work to do, but we will continue to bargain in good faith with the UAW and work towards an outcome that recognizes the vital role of our team members in GM’s success,” GM said in a statement. The letter was signed by GM President Mark Reuss and Gerald Johnson, GM executive vice president of global manufacturing and sustainability.