UAW, Car Makers Weigh New Class of Hires
United Auto Workers officials are considering a plan to encourage the Detroit Three auto makers to add thousands of jobs traditionally belonging to auto-parts suppliers, hoping to fuel the union’s recent string of modest membership increases.
The catch? The wages wouldn’t be great.
UAW President Dennis Williams, gearing up for summer negotiations with General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, is under pressure to boost pay for 140,000 union-represented factory workers. With the auto industry awash in profit, he wants to close the compensation gap between entry-level assembly-line employees making $19 an hour and veteran workers earning $28 an hour.
At the same time Mr. Williams is expected to discuss allowing the auto makers to hire new blue-collar employees at an even lower rate—between $10 an hour and $15 an hour, according to people familiar with the matter. These new workers would handle low-skilled jobs such as organizing auto parts in bins, and wouldn’t assemble vehicles
http://www.wsj.com/articles/uaw-car-makers-weigh-new-class-of-hires-1431301465
The good is new members. The bad is they would be 2nd class members.