New Contract Protects Wages, Provides for Lump Sums
The proposed agreement protects the wages of UAW workers at GM, and provides four lump-sum payments, one in each year of the agreement.
UAW-represented GM workers who are on the active roll on the effective date of the agreement will receive an up-front settlement bonus of $3,000. Workers on pre-retirement leave, in protected status, on temporary layoff, on Family and Medical Leave or various other leaves of absence of not more than 90 days, are also eligible, as are workers with retirements processed for an effective date of Oct. 1. The settlement bonus will be paid in the second pay period following official notification of the agreement’s ratification.
Three additional bonuses will be paid in the second, third and fourth years of the agreement. In October 2008, UAW GM workers with seniority as of Sept. 15, 2008, will receive a lump-sum performance bonus equal to 3 percent of qualified earnings (including base wages, COLA, overtime, shift and seven-day operator premiums, call-in pay, vacation, holiday and other paid time off) over the preceding 52 pay periods. In October 2009, workers with seniority as of Sept. 21, 2009, will receive a lump-sum bonus equal to 4 percent of qualified earnings. A final performance bonus, equal to 3 percent of qualified earnings, will be paid in October 2010, to workers with seniority as of Sept. 20, 2010.
Projected Total Gains
Total economic gains from the proposed agreement add up to $13,056 for a typical GM assembler, based on a standard, 2,080-hour year and 10 percent overtime. That figure includes the $3,000 settlement bonus; performance bonuses of 3 percent, 4 percent and 3 percent, and projected cost-of-living adjustments, after diversions.
Cost-of-Living Protection
The proposed agreement maintains the existing COLA formula, based on the CPI-W for all items less medical care. $2.03 of the current $2.08 COLA float will be folded into base wage rates as of the effective date of the agreement. The remaining 5 cents will be the initial COLA float.
The 2-cent quarterly diversion agreed to in the 2005 UAW-GM health care settlement agreement will continue and be made permanent. An additional 4 cents per quarter will be diverted to fund the new VEBA that will secure lifetime health benefits for current and future retirees. A final 4 cents per quarter will be diverted to defray the cost of health care benefits for active workers.
These diversions will be taken in the order listed. There will be no “catch-up” diversions if a quarterly COLA adjustment is less than 10 cents.
Profit Sharing
The profit-sharing formula will continue unchanged. Your bargaining team resisted management attempts to put a cap on profit-sharing payouts; UAW GM workers will share fully in any profits that their hard work and sacrifice make possible.
New Hires' 401(k)
GM will contribute $1 per compensated hour into all new hires' 401(k) plans.
Independence Day Week Shutdown Pay
The proposed agreement maintains the Independence Day week shutdown at GM.
During the week of the Independence Day holiday, seniority UAW workers will receive
four days (32 hours) off at their regular rate of pay, including shift and seven-day
operation premiums. Eligibility is unchanged from the 2003-2007 agreement.
Over the term of the proposed agreement, the 32 hours of shutdown pay are worth
an average of $950 each year for a typical GM assembler.