“The contract currently being proposed by Stellantis would deepen the divisions in our workplace, not eliminate them,” Fain said on the livestream. “Stellantis’ proposals are a slap in the face; they’re an insult to our members’ hard work over the last four years.”
The UAW’s list of contract demands — including more than 40 percent raises for members — would increase labor costs for the Detroit 3 by $45 billion to $80 billion a year, sources told Automotive News.
Granting them would nearly triple labor rates to more than $150 an hour per employee at all three companies, the sources said.
Colin Langan, an analyst with Wells Fargo, estimated that the demands would cost each company $6 billion to $8 billion a year, raising labor costs to roughly $136 an hour per employee.
“Those costs would be unsustainable,” said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who specializes in labor issues. “They could not remain competitive at that level.”
Ford, GM and Stellantis today spend at least $63 an hour on each worker’s wages and benefits vs. $55 at the transplant automakers that use nonunion labor.
Hourly labor costs for Tesla Inc. are believed to be even lower, between $45 and $50 per hour.
Labor cost figures comprise multiple expenses, not all of which go into employee take-home pay, including overtime, shift premiums, profit sharing and pension payments.
Still, labor experts say such an increase is unrealistic, despite Fain’s insistence that the union is sincere about achieving everything on its list.
“You should take those estimates with a grain of salt,” Wheaton said. “You won’t realistically achieve all of those demands. Both sides have extreme initial offers that will not pass. That’s why you bargain.”
