Auto Workers Release Details of General Motors Contract

by Laura Clawson, Daily Kos Labor

The United Auto Workers announced details of its tentative contract agreement with GM today:

The offers a $5,000 signing bonus; a modest pay increase -- $3 an hour over four years -- for entry-level workers hired after September 2007, and a change in profit-sharing, based on North American results, not just those for the U.S.

The entry-level workers currently made between $14 and $16 an hour.

“Getting that wage up over $19 an hour was very important to us," Ashton said. Second-tier workers now also have unlimited doctor visits and other health-care improvements, he said. “We’re proud of what we did for the entry level. They deserve it, and we’re going to try to do more.”

Workers at the higher pay tier will not receive annual pay raises, but profit-sharing willamount to a minimum of $3,500 next year; the deal also "adds or retains 6,400 workers," and GM is offering significant early retirement payments.

More than 48,000 GM workers will vote on whether to accept the deal.