Ford CEO Jim Farley accuses Jim Farley of driving the company toward bankruptcy by wanting factory workers to earn far more than other worthwhile professions, UAW says lashed out at this.
In an interview with CNBC ThursdayFarley said his request for a 40% total salary increase over a four-year contract, or about 10% per year, is too high and unfair to other hard-working Americans.
“If we hadn’t made money over the past decade and distributed $75,000 in profit sharing, we would have lost $15 billion and gone bankrupt by now. With a four-day work week (per UAW employee), the average salary would be closer to $300,000, ” he told the broadcaster.
“In the United States, a full-time teacher makes $66,000 a year, and some military personnel or firefighters make about $50,000 a year. That’s four, five, six times what they earn.”
It’s unclear how Farley arrived at his figures, which show that factory line workers currently earn total annual compensation of more than $210,000. Furthermore, negotiations often involve two parties deliberately making the highest demands because they know they will meet somewhere in the middle.
Unable to contact Ford wealth for comment.
This guy made $21 million last year. https://t.co/9H3wLk5Vo0
— UAW (@UAW) September 14, 2023
Farley then tried to sow discord between his hourly workers and the union, suggesting the latter had little real interest in the well-being of its members because the union had rejected the company’s counteroffer.
“You want us to go bankrupt instead of supporting our workers?” he asked the UAW.
The tug-of-war for public support
By describing the UAW as greedy, Farley gambled that he could win public support — a key bargaining chip in winning a strike. Whichever side finds itself viewed as less than reasonable first usually ends up being the first to back down on key obstacles.
However, the United Auto Workers union quickly responded to Farley’s emotional appeal, criticizing the Ford boss personally in an attempt to paint him as a hypocrite.
“This guy made $21 million last year,” the union posted on social media in an attempt to regain the moral high ground.
Nonprofit advocacy group As You Sow seems to agree. Estimates indicate considerable differences in the performance of Ford and General Motors and their CEOs’ generous compensation packages compared with their large foreign peers.
Provided by “When Sowing”
Workers, who are struggling to recoup huge losses in purchasing power during the past two years of high inflation, point to the three companies’ record profits – which totaled $21 billion in the first six months of this year – as evidence that shareholders have helped I achieved more than my fair share of the pie.
On Thursday night, UAW boss Shawn Fain announced rotating strikes against General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis in Detroit.
“Tonight, for the first time in our history, we’re going to attack all three of the Big Three at the same time,” he said.
Pressure to steal truck driver success via UPS
About 13,000 workers picketed GM’s Wentzville plant in Missouri, Stellantis’ Toledo plant and Ford’s Michigan assembly plant in Wayne. All three focus on higher-margin models, such as pickup trucks and SUVs, that are critical to the company’s bottom line.
Shop workers elsewhere will continue to build cars under expired contracts until they are told to down their tools and strike.
“This strategy will keep companies guessing. This will provide our national negotiators with maximum leverage and flexibility in negotiations,” Fein said. “If we need to go all out, we will – everything is on the table.”
in a statement On Thursday, Ford warned union workers that a strike for better wages and conditions would cost them financially.
“Our hourly workers receive UAW strike pay, on average, at nearly 60% less than what they would earn on a regular basis. Without vehicles being produced, the profit-sharing checks UAW workers expect to receive early next year will also be significantly reduced due to the massive strike.”
Fein is under pressure to get at least as lucrative a raise as truck drivers. The latter has made headlines for its recent deal with UPS, which has seen a spike in interest in applying to become delivery drivers.All the rival unions have to do is Authorize The strike was an attempt to gain enough leverage to seal a deal it claimed was worth $30 billion — a threat that proved unnecessary.
But not every union has been so successful in wresting concessions. The Writers Guild of America and the Screen Actors Guild have been on strike for months in the hope of negotiating better terms with Hollywood studios, but to no avail.
“The money is there, the cause is righteous, the world is watching, and the UAW is ready to stand up,” said Fein, the union president. “This is our defining moment.”
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