"United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain said Sunday that the union is rejecting an offer from one of the Big Three automakers for a 21% wage increase as autoworkers for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler parent company Stellantis went on strike Friday,” CBS News reports.
"The union has asked for 40% pay increases to match the average pay increases of the CEOs1
For context - the 21% number would not be any immediate raise - it would be cumulative over a 3+ year period.And it would come after an extended period when wages have fallen behind living costs, and after the UAW gave up wages and benefits to keep Detroit afloat when it was struggling.
The story quotes Fain with this: "“First off, labor costs are about 5% of the cost of the vehicle. They could double our wages and not raise the price of the vehicles and still make billions in profits. It’s a choice. And the fact that they want to compare it to how pitiful Tesla pays their workers and other companies pay their workers — that’s what this whole argument is about. Workers in this country got to decide if they want a better life for themselves, instead of scraping to get by paycheck to paycheck, while everybody else walks away with the loot.”