Some Detroit auto show visitors say US workers should follow Canadians' example
Jakkar AimeryDetroit — Visitors to the Detroit auto show Saturday said U.S. autoworkers should follow the example of their Canadian counterparts, and find a way to come to terms with the automakers.
Early Saturday, Unifor, the Canadian autoworkers' union, sadi its new three-year tentative deal with Ford Motor Co. "delivers in a very big way" on members' priorities around pensions and wages, with top-scale workers poised to see their wages increase more than 19% over the life of the agreement.
Senior employees would see their hourly rate rise from $37.33 Canadian to $44.52, an increase of 19.2%, according to Unifor. The Canadian dollar is equivalent to 74 cents in U.S. currency.
Meanwhile, on American soil, the United Auto Workers remained on strike Saturday, a day after expanding its walkout against the Dearborn automaker's two crosstown rivals to 38 General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV parts distribution centers across the country.
Several auto show visitors were "on the fence" about American strikers, saying that their pay and benefits are "still good" and "a hell of a lot better than other places that aren't union."
"I do agree with some of what they're striking for, but I also see both sides," said Michael Sigman of Clinton Township. "However, I don't see any reason why it takes this long to get to an agreement though."
Despite the union's request to lower weekly work hours from 40 to 32, Sigman, 50, said as a guy who has worked 60 to 80 hours a week for more than half his life, it's "a part of the game."
"You're getting paid for it; you're getting benefits for it; if they say work 60, then work 60," he said Saturday afternoon. "I would tell (UAW strikers) to slow your roll a little bit; you're still in a good spot because Ford, Stellantis and GM aren't going anywhere."
In August, UAW president Shawn Fain argued that union members were "barely surviving" by "working 60, 70, even 80 hours a week just to make ends meet," prompting a call for a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, pensions extended to all workers, and the revival of health care coverage for retirees.
With the UAW strike expanding, many Michigan residents feel that it'll adversely impact the economy and skyrocket inflation beyond current demands.
"Car prices are going to go up, you've got all the infrastructure and everything to maintain, as well as the stockholders ... it's going to drive prices higher," said Jim McGinty of Farmington Hills.
Although McGinty said he supports American autoworkers, he said the Canadian autoworkers union's tentative agreement with Ford "seems more realistic," with an increase of 10% the first year, 2% in the second year and 3% in the third year. The deal also includes cost-of-living adjustments.
"In this day in age, that amount in a pay increase is pretty sweet, at least from the outside," McGinty, 66, said.
The UAW initially proposed 46% wage increases over the length of the contract (40% when not compounded). A subsequent offer decreased that to 36% not compounded.
For Flat Rock resident Malachi Murphy, as wages increase, he said the cost of essentials like food, clothing and housing will follow.
"We all deserve more money, but the increase won't help," Murphy, 53, said. "The Catch-22 is (the wage increase) will hurt those who don't make as much because in the economy, I think prices follow wages."
Still, he hopes the walkouts ends soon.
"But the strike is hurting more than the UAW and the Big Three; it's hurting the economy."
jaimery@detroitnews.com