Each U.S. Auto Worker's labor Produces $300,000 In Value To The Company

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.laborradio.org/node/6339

Each U.S. Auto Worker's labor Produces $300,000 In Value To The Company - 07/11/07

By Doug Cunningham

As the United Auto Workers sits down to bargain new contracts with the U.S. automakers the industry itself admits that each autoworker adds about $300,000 in value to the corporations. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger says that’s from a study by the U.S. census on manufacturing. The Alliance of Auto Manufacturers says that as of 2003 each worker added $292,000 in value, 143 percent higher than the national U.S. manufacturing average. Over the decades auto profits have been in the billions of dollars – profits made with the good UAW wage and benefits contracts. In the ‘90’s the auto industry racked up record profits and even today auto workers produce a higher level of output than any other single industry when measured in constant dollars, according to the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers. Auto industry wage and benefits standards are extremely important to the overall economy, impacting wages and benefits in a ripple effect. The U.S. auto industry directly supports more than 13 million jobs. That’s a little perspective on what’s at stake as the UAW bargains it’s new wages and benefits with U.S. automakers this summer.