Productivity
Do union contracts and union work rules make auto plants less productive?
No When plants producing similar vehicles are compared to one another, as described below, workers in union plants assemble vehicles in fewer hours than their nonunion counterparts in 11 of 12 product categories.
This performance, which is reported in the Harbour Report — the most closely watched study of auto industry productivity — would not be possible if union contracts were a drag on productivity.
Is the Harbour Report based on full data from all companies in the study?
No In its key rating of company assembly productivity for 2007 (based on 2006 data) Harbour did not rank Toyota, Nissan and Honda “due to partial reporting of plants.”
Nissan did not provide any data for this year’s report, so the Harbour Report estimates Nissan productivity based on “publicly available data.”
UAW-represented companies, including Auto Alliance (Mazda), Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi and NUMMI, provided full information from all plants and were included in the rankings. Each of these companies, which operates with union-negotiated contracts, reported significant productivity improvements between 2005 and 2006.
Is the Harbour Report an apples-to-apples comparison?
No Although Toyota reported only partial data in 2007, the Harbour Report ranks the company first in overall manufacturing productivity. This ranking does not adjust for Toyota’s vehicle mix, which includes more passenger cars and fewer vans, SUVs and trucks than domestic manufacturers.
Since cars on average require fewer person hours to produce than trucks, pickups and vans, this is one factor that would affect the overall hours required to produce a vehicle.
How did union manufacturing plants perform when compared on an equal basis?
Better than the competition in 11 of 12 product categories.
The 2007 Harbour Report identifies 23 vehicle segments where productivity can be compared in plants making the same type of vehicles. Both union and nonunion companies are participants in only 12 of these 23 categories. In some categories, all the participants are unionized facilities; in others the only participant is a nonunion facility.
Workers in UAW and CAW facilities are more efficient than their nonunion counterparts in 11 of the 12 facilities that can be compared across the same vehicle category.
How did unionized facilities perform in the overall Harbour rankings in 2007?
UAW and CAW members received top rankings in all manufacturing categories:
- Three of four Best Plant awards
- Seven of 10 most efficient assembly plants
- Three of 10 most efficient stamping plants
- Seven of 10 most efficient engine plants
- Four of five most efficient transmission plants
Most efficient North American manufacturing plants, 2006
(Segments with both union and nonunion competitors only)
| Segment | Segment productivity leader | Other segment participants |
|---|---|---|
| Compact non-premium conventional | GM Saturn Ion UAW Local 1583, Spring Hill, Tenn. | Chrysler, Ford, Honda, Toyota, NUMMI, Volkswagen |
| Compact premium conventional | Honda Marysville, Ohio | GM, Ford |
| Midsize non-premium conventional | Ford Taurus UAW Local 882, Atlanta | Chrysler, GM, Honda, Toyota |
| Midsize non-premium sports car | GM Pontiac Monte Carlo CAW Local 222, Oshawa, Ontario | Toyota, Mitsubishi, Auto Alliance (Mazda) |
| Large non-premium conventional | GM Chevy Impala CAW Local 222, Oshawa, Ontario | Chrysler, Ford, Toyota |
| Midsize non-premium van | Chrysler Caravan, Town and Country CAW Local 444, Windsor, Ontario | GM, Ford, Honda, Toyota |
| Compact non-premium CUV | Pontiac TorrentCAMI CAW Local 88, Ingersoll, Ontario | Chrysler, GM, Honda |
| Midsize premium CUV | GM Cadillac SRX UAW Local 652, Lansing, Mich. | Ford, Honda |
| Midsize non-premium utility | Chrysler Grand Cherokee UAW Local 12, Toledo, Ohio | Ford, GM, Honda, Mitsubishi |
| Large non-premium utility | GM Suburban, Tahoe, Yukon UAW Local 276, Arlington, Texas | Chrysler, Ford, Toyota |
| Midsize non-premium pickup | Toyota TacomaNUMMI UAW Local 2488, Fremont, Calif. | Chrysler, Ford, GM, Honda |
| Large non-premium pickup | General Motors Sierra and Silverado UAW Local 2209, Fort Wayne, Ind. | Chrysler, Ford, Toyota |
| Unionized facility | Nonunion facility |
Source: Harbour Report, 2007
