Plus: UAW-GM contract is offering $11,000 in bonuses, salary increases, no change in health if the preliminary agreement doesn`t get the majority of voting members, then it`s back to drawing for GM negotiators and the UAW GM bargaining committee to hammer an agreement on objections members. Nearly 200 local auto worker executives voted Thursday to send a preliminary agreement with General Motors Co. to members. “They could get higher wage increases and other benefits if they didn`t devote their bargaining power to change in the health sector,” Dziczek said. GM originally proposed increasing the share of their health care expenses paid by workers per hour from 3% to 15%, but the UAW did not shout. The union argued that for years, workers have provided wage increases and other benefits to protect health costs for hard-working workers. GM said it has agreed to maintain the workers` share of health care spending as it stands, a big benefit for the union. What for? Ford employs the most workers per hour in the United States, thus paying more for health care. All costs negotiated by GM under a master contract with the Detroit Three therefore have a disproportionate impact on Ford, labor analysts say. Overall: GM`s health tab in 2018, for unionized workers hour by hour and their families, earned about $900 million.
Ford`s annual health spending will also increase to $1 billion. New union contracts on the same terms would immediately increase these figures. UAW members who strike will receive their next pay cheque on Friday, after returning to their workplace and working for a week. However, members who report to strike tax receive a strike salary of up to $275 per week; The next cheques will be distributed from Monday. GM continues to pay for health care. Health cost protection can be used to effectively organize foreign employees in the future, Masters predicted. This is therefore a key strategy for the UAW if it is to strengthen its production membership. The agreement preserves health insurance benefits without increasing the cost of the out-of-pocket. This means a zero premium and zero deductible, as well as a co-payment limit of $700 per year on average for permanent employees. UAW-GM employees pay about 3% of their health care costs.
However, some simple changes could still be part of the package negotiated in 2019. Small actions, such as making a family have a family doctor instead of going to the ER, can make a big difference in cost. And active management of chronic diseases related to diabetes, asthma or heart health can save millions. Beyond wages, health care is the biggest and most painful cost, Dziczek said. After the ratification of a contract with GM, the union will focus on negotiating an agreement with the other two Detroit companies. A matter of benefit, when it was chosen by the union to be the priority of the reflection negotiations, means that GM sets the model for key issues such as wages, health care and temporary workers in the four-year contract.
