Question

[kb426]

What is an average wage for a UAW employee that has around 10 years exp.? What kind of benefits do they receive? Some of my friends are curious if the government is putting out accurate info.

[enjenjo]

It depends. OE, big three? First tier supplier? Second tier supplier?

My buddy works in a Chrysler parts plant, he gets $23.50 an hour with 34 years. His daughter, doing a similar job with 8 years gets $17.40 I have another buddy who works for a second tier supplier, he has 11 years, and gets $10.50. Benefits are different with each company.

[phat rat]

I was UAW. I worked for Sealed Power who sold us to Dana. We had a sort of two tiered system the last few years but it was only $5 an hour which disappeared in quarterly increments of $.25  for 5 years if I remember correctly but not sure as it didn't affect me. When I retired with 43 years in Jan 06 I was making $19.30 an hour. I know some on here are against unions and think the guys are paid to much. But seriously to machine the parts is a skill that many can never be taught. I can remember many guys who just couldn't cut it as a set-up/machine operator. We set our own machines up and ran them. Some people have the idea that anyone can do it but that's far from fact. We had people who were excellent as visual inspectors but couldn't operate a machine to save their souls. Turning out acceptable parts hour after hour, day after day, year after year and knowing what to do when the machine malfuctions is a skill many never achieve

[Okiedokie]

Not meaning to be nosey, just educated. Since I have never worked in a union situation, I am curious about retirement bennies. Joe

[phat rat]

Not meaning to be nosey, just educated. Since I have never worked in a union situation, I am curious about retirement bennies. Joe

Considerably less than the big 3 here for pension. Our insurance is paid out of an individual fund (Beniflex dollars) which is so much money for each year of service. So the short timers fund is much less than an oldtimer like myself with 43 years. Just because a local union is UAW affiliated does not mean it's members get benefits like the big 3 UAW union members do. Back when I started we were usually about a contract behind the big 3 in bennies. But this changed when the freeze was put on wages (Reagan administration if I remember correctly) after that we never recovered and the gap continued to grow. Fair? I never thought so, but I also have talked to people who worked??? for the big 3 and quite a few of those I talked to I felt were overpaid for what they told me they did, or maybe I should say didn't do.

[348tripower]

I have to agree with Phat rat on the skill of some of the autoworkers.  I think there is a minority of really skilled people in their ranks. I personally know people that worked there that hardly ever went in.  Some were caught and protected by the union. Now some are retired and complaining about the loss of benefits.  I think it is payback time for them.  
If you stop and look at the union, they are afraid that they will incur a big loss of revenue if the auto companys or a auto company go under. To me they a just another big business. How many people does it take to make a car?
I still don't understand why in this United States of America a car has to cost 30 to 40 THOUSAND dollars.
Don

[unklian]

Some of my friends are curious if the government is putting out accurate info.

You can't trust the government, or the media, to put out accurate info.
They follow their own agenda.

Hearsay, "Wive's Tales", and "Common Knowledge", are at least as bad.

[kb426]

This is being emailed around. Is there any truth to where it came from or the info in it?


According to Forbes:

Labor cost per hour, wages and benefits for hourly workers.

Ford: $70.51 ($141,020 per year)

GM: $73.26 ($146,520 per year)

Chrysler: $75.86 ($151,720 per year)

 Toyota, Honda, Nissan (in  U.S.): $48.00 ($96,000 per year)

According to AAUP and IES, the average annual compensation for a college professor in 2006 was $92,973 (average salary nationally of $73,207 + 27% benefits).

Bottom Line: The average UAW worker with a high school degree earns 57.6% more compensation than the average university professor with a Ph.D., and 52.6% more than the average worker at  Toyota, Honda or Nissan.

Many industry analysts say the Detroit Three, must be on par with  Toyota and Honda to survive.  This year's contract, they say, must be "transformational" in reducing pension and health care costs.

What would "transformational" mean? One way to think about "transformational" would mean that UAW workers, most with a high school diploma, would have to accept compensation equal to that of the average university professor with a PhD.



Then there's the "Job Bank"  

  When a D3 (Detroit 3 carmaker) lays an employee off, that employee continues to receive all benefits - medical, retirement, etc., etc., PLUS an hourly wage of $31/hour.

Here's a typical story....

   Ken Pool is making good money.  On weekdays, he shows up at 7 a.m. at Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne, signs in, and then starts working -- on a crossword puzzle.  Pool hates the monotony, but the pay is good: more than $31 an hour, plus benefits.

   "We just go in and play crossword puzzles, watch videos that someone brings in or read the newspaper," he says. "Otherwise, I just sit."

[enjenjo]

What Forbes doesn't say, is that hourly compensation for the big three includes pension and health care costs for 5 to 6 people, in addition to the one working. The big three never kept pension money seperate, just included it in their general fund, and spent it as they saw fit.

So at this point, the only way for them to get out of the pension costs, is to declare backrupcy, shed the pension costd to the government, and start over.

One thing about the Teamsters, the pension is milti employer, and the companies have no access to it, or control on how it's invested. Until this debacle that is our economy right now started, the UAW pension was supposed to go the same route in 2010. Now there is no cash to do it. Some one is going to get screwed.

[Charlie Chops 1940]

Labor cost and labor wages are NOT the same thing. Labor cost includes wages, medical, dental, vision, retirement contribution by yhr company, social security, and who knows what else.

The news media does a vast disservice to labor in reporting these costs. Certainly there are other issues with labor, but wages are not the whole problem.

Charlie

[Crosley.In.AZ]

plenty of folks will be left standing on a street corner when this mess is handled  with the big 3 or 2  or GM ...

Many average folks do not know what it "costs" to pay an employee.  They see a pay check stub and think that is it... nope!

[river1]

The news media does a vast disservice to labor
Charlie

yes they do :cry:

i work as a union member for one of the largest media companies and they are notorious for being anti union. as they pertain to labor media companies are FAR from the "liberal" bias as they are portrayed by the conservative side.

later jim

[Crosley.In.AZ]

it is an interesting discussion on media bias.... so many views that are completely opposite when looking at the same set of circumstances .

I do not understand how the local AZ fish wrap can be anti labor when they obviously hate the conservative side of politics and love illegal immigrants(Labor group).  

The  labor groups love the Democrats  even though these groups are often drilled in the butt by the Democrat actions.

Our own  Governor just signed an executive order to allow state workers to organize with a labor union... a pay back to the labor folks for their support of this handsome woman and her policies.

[slocrow]

kb426 asked, "What is an average wage for a UAW employee that has around 10 years exp.?"
Here's an excerpt from a e-mail I sent to a friend recently covering this subject;

"Rock; I've noticed that "they" seem to attempt to say repeatedly that Detroit workers are costing 69-73$$$ per hour, when in fact it is stated incorrectly.
What should be said is that the cost of labor is $69-$73 per hour, to include on the job wages, benefits and government (SS) programs for current union workers plus the big one, legacy costs.
As I'm sure you're aware, the current cost of wage per hour only, is $14 to $28 which I'm sure is close to the hourly wage of the non-union competition, which is a suggested total of $41 p/h (Toyota) which includes all the above mentioned benefit, government and legacy categories, I'd assume.

So, with this info it's obvious too both of us that a bridge loan will work temporarily and won't work for the long run without bringing down the cost per hour at the big three.
I understand that a large payment has been made to the UAW for them to assume responsibility of health costs for it's members. I'm not sure if it's only GM or if the other two are included but in either case that only eliminates the health costs from that big hourly number.

Nope, I can't agree with a loan at this point! I think a bankruptcy for reorganization is the way out for it alone allows the companies to extricate themselves for existing obligations that are doing a slow kill.
The bridge loan would be a bailout of the UAW for all it's thrown around the necks of the "big 3".

Hey, if you're retired before 65 and need to pay for health insurance maybe you need a job. My grass needs cut. And if you're on paid leave (90%) because of a slow down, well that has to go.
"We don't have $26 p/h jobs any more but I've got a lot of openings for $17 p/h workers", paraphrased from Lee Iacocca, circa 70's."  

My reference to the 90% for layoff may have already been addressed in the new contract, as I understand and it has been abolished.
I was surprised to hear that the current labor only cost for a "big 3" was about $800 p/car, as stated by the UAW during a news cast. Another source stated that the labor cost p/car was 10%. I've also heard that the bloat p/car vs foreign was between $1000 to $3000 p/car.

Anyway, the big reason there is a problem is folks aren't buying cars, any type. It's off by 80%.That's the result of economic fear and credit lock-up.
Buy the way, that smart buying public has made trucks the big item (Nov stats) now that $4 gas is a short memory.
And yes, let's let the government tell Detroit what kind of cars to make. Yeah right, can you say Yugo.....................my 2 cents.........Frank

[river1]

I do not understand how the local AZ fish wrap can be anti labor when they obviously hate the conservative side of politics and love illegal immigrants(Labor group).  

labor=higher wages

illegal immigrants=cheap labor

they use immigrants to deliver the newspaper

later jim