[Updated at bottom.]
When it comes to pay and benefits for autoworkers in the United States, Daimler union-free workers in Alabama are at the top of the proverbial car heap—even above General Motors’ UAW-represented workers.
Citing a study of 2014 labor costs by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) that must have UAW bosses inside the Solidarity House howling mad, Reuters’ reporter Bernie Woodall writes that, when it comes to wages and benefits among the so-called Detroit Three, Fiat Chrsyler is at the bottom of the list, at 21% below that of their union brothers and sisters at GM and Ford, respectively.
However, it is the non-union workers at Daimler’s plant in Alabama that rise above all other autoworkers in the U.S.
Labor costs at GM including benefits total $58 per hour, compared to $48 per hour at Fiat Chrysler. Ford Motor Co is right behind GM at $57 per hour, CAR said.
Germany’s Daimler AG workers at its plant in Alabama make the most per hour among U.S. auto workers, at an average of $65, while Volkswagen AG at $38 per hour and BMW at $39 paid the least, the study shows. [Emphasis added.]
While the BMW and VW plants’ labor costs are lower, it must be pointed out that they also have not been manufacturing in the U.S. as long any of the Detroit Three.
However, with Daimler workers (who are union-free) making $7 more per hour than GM’s UAW workers and $8 per hour more than Ford’s UAW workers, and a whopping $17 more per hour than Fiat Chrysler’s UAW workers, one must wonder if the UAW is really offering Daimler workers anything other than the opportunity to pay union dues.
Union is more than how much you are paid. I will take my voice in the work place, a grievance procedure, seniority and bargaining rights any day of the week over a few more dollars to be a puppet.