Detroit Today: The issues driving negotiations between the UAW and Detroit’s automakers
The United Auto Workers union is now in contract talks with U.S. car companies ahead of the current deal’s mid-September expiration date.
Last week, The United Auto Workers began negotiations for a new labor deal with Detroit’s Big Three automakers. In an effort to stave off a labor stoppage ahead of the current deal’s September 14 expiration date, the Biden Administration is sending one of its top economic advisors — Michigan native Gene Sperling — to help assist with relations between the parties.
Editor’s note: The majority of WDET reporters are members of the Professional and Administrative Union, Local 1979, UAW.
Listen: The issues driving negotiations between the UAW and Big Three automakers.
Guest
Kalea Hall is an auto reporter for The Detroit News. She’s been covering UAW contract negotiations. She says currently, the experts she’s spoken believe there is a 90% chance of a strike.
“COLA (Cost-of-Living-Adjustment) is the big question mark,” says Hall. “Many people don’t think that that’s possible, because the automakers will argue [they] provided thousands of dollars in profit sharing checks, which have been beyond what COLA would have provided.”
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