New Wage and Benefit Structure
for Entry-Level Employees
To keep work in UAW GM plants, and to create a realistic possibility of adding work for future growth, the proposed agreement establishes a new pay structure for entry-level employees. The new structure applies to what GM calls “non-core” jobs in all its facilities.
Examples of “non-core” jobs include, but are not limited to, material movement, general stores management, finished vehicle driving, paint mix room, chemical management and subassembly.
Workers hired in under the entry-level structure will have the opportunity for traditional UAW GM jobs as positions become available.
Entry-Level Wages
The new entry-level wage structure applies to UAW-represented workers in non-core jobs hired on or after the effective date of the proposed agreement. Temporary employees who were on the rolls prior to the effective date, and are subsequently converted to permanent status, are not considered entry-level employees and will receive traditional wages.
The entry-level wage structure, which is modeled after the UAW-Delphi agreement, has two key elements:
• New wage rates for three classification groupings.
•A new wage formula that provides annual increases tied to either (a) the percentage increase in average hourly earnings, excluding overtime, of workers in the U.S. manufacturing sector or (b) the annual rate of inflation, whichever is greater. Increases will take effect in the first pay period of each calendar year.
In addition to annual wage formula increases, entry-level workers with seniority as of the designated eligibility date will receive performance bonuses in each year of the four-year agreement. An entry-level worker’s performance bonus will be equal to 3 percent of qualified earnings during the previous 52 pay periods. Performance bonuses will be paid in May 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, based on April eligibility dates.
Entry-level workers are not eligible for pay for the Independence Day holiday week. Workers not scheduled to work during that period will have the option of using vacation hours or taking an unpaid leave of absence.
Entry-Level Benefits
Entry-level workers will be covered by a separate benefit plan, including the following elements:
• A cash balance defined-benefit retirement plan: GM will deposit 6.4 percent of workers’ wages into a portable retirement plan, which will accrue interest tied to the 30-year U.S. Treasury bond.
• Health care plan: Entry-level workers will be covered by a health care plan, with annual in-network deductibles of $300 single/$600 family. Coinsurance will be 10 percent in-network, with an annual cap on out-of-pocket expenditures of $1,000 single/$2,000 family. To defray these costs, GM will reimburse workers up to $300 single/$600 family annually from a flexible health care spending account. Entry-level workers will be eligible for dental coverage and a vision exam after three years, and for full vision coverage after five years.
• Supplemental Unemployment Benefits: Entry-level workers with at least one but less than three years seniority will be eligible for 26 weeks of SUB. That increases to 52 weeks (which can be extended) for workers with three or more years seniority.