Time, September 15, 2011, Thursday

Time

September 15, 2011, Thursday

Time (full article)

Come Again? American Auto Workers Get Signing Bonuses?

“It’s better than nothing,” says Arthur Wheaton, Director, Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs, at Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, adding that the payments will give the economies in the regions around auto plants a boost as auto workers spend their money. “Most of them haven’t seen a raise in (around) six years.” Unlike a raise, “you get it once and it’s gone,” he adds.

UAW members have gotten these payments in lieu of higher wages since the 1980s, when Detroit began its long decline and wages began to stagnate. Automakers, however, need to preserve the status quo in which workers hired within the past five years will never earn more than their more seasoned counterparts. This system, which Detroit argues is critical to its revival, can present some awkward situations.

“Many of them are getting (about) half the wages as the person standing next to them doing the same job,” Wheaton says referring to UAW members.