The Strike
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Now, some perspective on one of the biggest economic stories impacting the United States.
They’ve stopped making cars. They quit distributing parts. They want more money to do their jobs and they want to work less. And — at least short term — you may not be able to buy the new vehicle that you want or find the replacement part that you need because of what’s happening.
Thousands of United Auto Workers members are frustrated that their companies are making billions and they aren’t getting their fair share of the money. So they have gone on strike.
Big Money for “The Big Three”
$20 billion plus in profits over the first six months of this year
The demands by the unions won’t just boost paychecks. They would also impact the work week, retirement and more.
UAW Wish List:
Up to 40% pay raises
Reduce 40-hour work weeks to 32
Bring back pensions instead of 401k
Restore retiree medical benefits
To me, the strike by the United Auto Workers against “The Big Three” automakers might be a continuation of what began when COVID-19 invaded our daily lives: Employees re-evaluated their lives and they aren’t sure they like what they’re realized. For them, corporate greed is real and they’re pushing back.
Since the pandemic hit in 2020, workers have demanded bigger paychecks, improved benefits, more flexibility and a better work-life balance.
Do you work for a big company that made millions or even billions in profits but you either didn’t get a raise or received one that won’t keep up with the rate of inflation? Or maybe it’s profits on a smaller scale in a smaller company, but you still didn’t get a paycheck that reflected the owner’s take? Did it piss you off?
Did you remind your boss of the staffing shortages that still exist in various industries? Or the rate of inflation that eats up too much of your resources?
Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (the new merged company that includes Chrysler) are feeling the wrath with this worker strikes. Their bosses make far, far more than the average worker.
Here’s a line that sticks out from this pay comparison in this NBC News story:
“For example, GM chief Mary Barra’s compensation grew by 32.5% from 2018 to 2022. During the same period, the median GM employee’s pay grew by 2.8%, public filings show.”
NBC News included some estimates in this story about what pay raises would cost the companies.
I mentioned earlier that the three automakers made more than $20 billion in profits over the first half of 2023. If they would have earned the same amount over the second half of the year, that’s a $40 billion profit total. (Obviously, the strike will now impact this).
So using that math and a few assumptions of mine based on the story’s figures, 40% raises for the union workers could cost somewhere around 10% of the Big Three’s yearly profits.
Admittedly, this is some rough math of mine to come up with that. But it demonstrates the impact on the companies (not including the other items on the union’s list of demands).
I’m not writing this to be pro-union to push for much higher pay for employees or to be anti-union to criticize workers for asking for 40% raises while cutting their hours worked by 20%.
This conversation is more about the increased tensions between highly profitable companies and their employees.
We’ll see how long this strike lasts and what the Big Three end up offering in a final agreement. But one thing is for sure: Many workers across our country have their company’s attention these days when it comes to their expectations about their paychecks.
And if they don’t, they may have it soon.
I write Dave Price’s Perspective as part of the Iowa Writers Collaborative, a group of three dozen independent writers across the state. Please check out some of the other writers and subscribe if you can.
Some scattered thoughts
--The Big Three domestic automakers largely aren't making "cars." anymore. They're making trucks. Big trucks. And bigger and bigger trucks. You can't find a low mileage domestic car; you hvae to settle for non-domestic brand with high percentage domestic content.
--UAW workers at Deere went on strike two years ago and turned down three contract offers before being finally told that last one was the company's "last best and final offer." And the largest UAW local in Deere, Local 838 in Waterloo, turned that one down but enough other local ratified it so it was adotped chain wide. Union leaders said some members won't know how good that contract is until they get ready to retire. However there were simmering resentments over about 15-20 years and that may be the case with the auto workers if they too had been operating under dual wage structures.
---These talks are occurring at a time when social media is more rampant than ever before. In the Deere talks union leaders had to tell members to pay attention to official sites. Rumors have always been hard to tamp down under normal circumstances.
---Hopefully this strike, at seleted facilities, won't expand, and the companies won't attempt a lockout at the facilities where people are still working -- or attempt to bring in replacement workers.
Personally I think those that are already making more than $25 dollars an hour and get yearly raises should get off the picket line and go back to work. They are already making $8- $10 an hour with better benefits than most workers in the U.S. Keeping the rest of the country hostage (car parts as well as car's themselves) .