Times are certainly changing in the automotive industry, with automakers investing heavily in electrification and preparing to open numerous new production facilities – plants that the United Auto Workers (UAW) union is working to organize. As Ford Authority reported back in March, newly elected UAW president Shawn Fain has promised tough upcoming contract negotiations with GM, Stellantis, and Ford – the latter of which has the most union-represented workers of any automaker, which we’ve already seen in action with strikes affecting Ford suppliers Clarios and Constellium, while another – Webasto – just voted to join the UAW as well. Now, the union has released a rather scathing video outlining its demands and taking aim at executives such as Ford CEO Jim Farley.
The video kicks off by highlighting the profits that each of these three automakers raked in last year. “The Big Three have collectively amassed so much money in North America profits over the last ten years, they could have bought every NBA team, every MLB team, and every NHL team, and they would still have $50 billion dollars left over,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
The union also takes aim at the CEOs of each of these companies, noting that each of them has earned millions following sacrifices the UAW made in 2009 during the recession. “Big Three executives have lavished themselves with fat salaries while auto workers continue to live paycheck-to-paycheck, and can’t even keep up with inflation,” said UAW Vice President Rich Boyer said. “Remember that the next time you hear them say ‘we are family.’ We are not family. Our members do the work that generates these profits,” added Vice President Mike Booth. “The companies depend on this work to make their billions.”
As far as what the union plans to ask automakers to give up in upcoming negotiations, it’s clearly focused on increasing wages across the board, as well as ensuring members have job security as the industry moves toward electrification. “We are clear about what we want,” said UAW Secretary-Treasurer Margaret Mock. “We want to end tiers that have been eating away at our union and causing undue hardship for thousands of our members hired since 2007. We want COLA to be re-established so that our wages can keep up with inflation. We want strong job security guarantees that protect our work, families, and communities.”
We’ll have more on these upcoming negotiators soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
Comments
The unions are still playing that old song about high pay for the CEOs. It hasn’t worked before and it won’t work again. Concentrate on something the union can change instead.
Sound jealous. We need more unions in the US.
Funny that the union makes no mention of the company owners and what they get for the sacrifice of buying Fomoco shares. I am not a shareholder, but I suspect that shareholders and bondholders have made substantial sacrifices as the cost of ownership since 2008. Management is paid to represent their interests as well.
In 2008 Ford stock was $1.41 per share. The per share price is currently under $15.00 today. The money is made thru Dividend Payment. They were frozen during the Pandemic. Ford pay’s quarterly all shareholders and bondholders with an annual average of
4.16%. Not even the bank can give you 4% each qtr. Fords 10 year Dividend Yield is 18.85%.
What substantial sacrifices were made by shareholders (All Classes)?
What about the UAW chiefs making huge salaries?
The CEO’s earn a big salary. The unions get paid pretty good given the job description but want more. Where does that leave the consumer? Me, I just want an affordable (and reliable) vehicle. Unfortunately, we’re stuck paying outrageous prices for cars built no better than when they were half the price.
That’s untrue AL. Vehicles are built outstanding an must be. Everyone needs a pay raise these days.
Al? You a union member? Ever worked a 10 hr shift at a plant? Yes union employees would like a pay raise. I haven’t had one in over 10 years. Since the early 2000s we’ve given constant concessions for these companies. The CEO’s haven’t had any pay concessions. Complaining about the cost of cars isn’t the employees fault. You can blame it on the 6-8 digit salaries of far too many execs in these companies, most of which do virtually nothing. They get multi million dollar bonuses for shaving more cash away from employees. Demoting employees, taking benefits and food off employees tables and receiving a $30M bonus for that ‘cost saving measure’. (BONUS… ON TOP OF THE MILLIONS IN SALARY HE RECEIVES) Blame the prices on execs that try to cut every bit of testing out of the process (reliability factor) and get millions for a BONUS. Blame execs that push seasoned talented engineers out the door to hire inexperienced college grads for half the price. Add that all up and you’ll know why the cars are crap. “Given the job description” tells me you have no idea what these jobs entail. 10 hrs non-stop ass busting work in a 110° facility. Blame pricing on over abundance of over paid execs that constantly shave cash out of the parts of the process that would make the cars more reliable (like retaining experienced engineers and doing the proper testing prior to launching a vehicle). They only care about quantity and time lines and it gets launched whether it’s ready or not. And if course start the designing cheap. Then band aid The problems. The employees do a great job with what we’re given. Auto companies are all way too “top heavy”. That’s the entire problem. We’d all produce much better products with a lot less executives, retaining experienced and talented designers and engineers, and stop trying to strip it all from the people that do the work. The union employees do a fantastic job and deserve something back. Inflation is out of control and we’re frozen at or below what our wages were almost 20 years ago. We hung in there when times were bad. We gave tons of concessions. Yes. We deserve more. Fire about 75% of the executives. Talk about cost saving! But I won’t get a $30M bonus. Yet you think we’re asking too much?
Well said. Ppl don’t get it. Or are trolling.
@aka, that’s a thorough and comprehensive response. I just want a reliable vehicle that does not cost me thousands after the warranty ends.
Didn’t ford lose 500 million last year wasn’t that went missing? Aren’t they projected to lose 3 billion for EV investment?
NO, NO & NO.
It used to be that the CEO or president made about 15 times the prevailing wage of the workers. Today, that would mean that the average pay for the workers would be $1,400,000.
Farley made $22,000,000 last year. $3 billion in warranty costs, stop sale/delivery on certain Maverics, Over a year wait for Super Duty’s. I could run the company down for less than half his compensation.