Toyota employees see big new benefits after UAW contracts
Big wage improvements likely meant to keep UAW out of Toyota plants
Just days after the United Auto Workers hammered out record new deals with the Detroit Three, Toyota has decided to give its factory workers a big extra raise of its own. Evidence that UAW President Shawn Fain’s call to workers to demand fair pay is having an effect across the industry.
Workers at Toyota plants are getting their third raise this year, where they would normally get two, reports Automotive News. The pay increase was $2.94 per hour, which is a sharp contrast to the 25-cent raise employees got in September.
Toyota will also be cutting the time it takes workers to reach the highest pay grade. That time, says AN, will be cut from eight years to four. All workers will also be getting more paid time off.
“At Toyota, we take great pride in showing respect for people,” said Chris Reynolds, Toyota Motor North America’s VP of corporate resources, told AN. “We value our employees and their contributions, and we show it by offering robust compensation packages that we continually review to ensure that we remain competitive within the automotive industry.”
UAW workers are getting raises of up to 25 percent. The union says this is in line with how much CEO pay has increased since the autoworkers took extensive pay cuts in 2008 during the Great Recession.
The UAW is reportedly now pursuing other non-union automakers, speaking with workers at Tesla and likely others.
