With no slowdown in sight, thousands of members of the United Auto Workers union enter the fifth week of a strike against the Detroit Three automakers.
Most recently, 8,700 workers at Ford’s largest plant walked off the job, putting the company at risk of losing about $30 million a day in profits.
Workers at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant build the Ford Super Duty, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. Super Duty is one of the most profitable products Ford sells. According to a statement from Ford, the vehicles built at the plant generate annual sales of $25 billion.
Union workers at the plant are demanding a fair contract and better pay, joining the 25,300 auto workers already picketing certain Ford, GM and Stellantis plants across the country.
According to Associated Press reports, the Detroit Three have already laid off about 4,800 auto workers at factories that aren’t on strike. Striking workers will receive $500 a week from the union’s strike pay fund.
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How does an auto worker’s salary compare to other hourly wage workers?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an average autoworker earns about $28 per hour. This wage increased by about a dollar compared to the previous year.
In states where the Detroit Three automakers have factories, workers are striking for better wages. Here’s how the average hourly wage compares in other common professions:
- In the child care industry, the food prep and food preparation industry, and the manufacturing industry, manufacturing jobs pay the most per hour in all states.
- Average hourly wages for manufacturing workers are highest in California, Washington and Illinois, each of which are among the 20 most expensive states in the U.S., according to regional price parity data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
- The average hourly wage for child care workers is lowest in Kentucky, which is among the states where consumer goods are cheapest in the U.S., according to BEA data. Child care workers there earn an average of $12.28 an hour.
How do auto workers pay compare to their CEOs?
Auto workers say their wages have stagnated even as Detroit auto companies’ profits and CEO compensation have increased.
The three companies are making near-record profits, reporting a combined profit of $21 billion in the first half of this year alone.
“The union says, ‘Wait a minute. They put the COLA on hold, so we’re reinstating it because you’re making money now and we’re seeing CEO pay getting higher and higher,” said Art Wheaton, director of labor studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
Top workers — anyone who joined the company in 2007 or earlier — earn an average of about $33 an hour, according to contract summaries for the Detroit Three show. Those hired after 2007 are lower tier and earn up to $17 an hour, based on a 6% annual raise under the most recent contract.
Not all autoworkers at the Detroit Three make anywhere near maximum wage. Temporary workers or unskilled workers earn less.
And as for CEO compensation — $29 million for GM’s Mary Barra, $21 million for Ford’s Jim Farley and $24.8 million for Stellantis in 2022, the Free Press recently noted.
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Why is the UAW striking?
- Abolition of pay scales
- A wage increase of 40% over the term of the contract. The 40% represents the increase in CEO salaries.
- Restoration of cost-of-living allowance adjustments to address inflation.
- Defined benefit pension for all employees.
- The right to strike during factory closures.
- A shortened work week and more paid time off.
- Limiting the use of temporary workers.
- Increased benefits for current retirees.
Since the strike began in mid-September, UAW President Shawn Fain has expanded the strike twice to include 38 parts distribution centers across the country and GM’s Lansing Delta Assembly as well as Ford’s Chicago Assembly and Kentucky Truck.
There are approximately 115,000 UAW members still in office.
Jamie L. LaReau contributed to this reporting