Posts tagged labor costs
Tesla Workers Are Union “Members Of The Future,” UAW President Says
October 19, 2023 // Tesla is likely the most "problematic" carmaker for the UAW as CEO Elon Musk strongly opposes unionization at the company's plants. The United Auto Workers and Workers United trade unions have sought to unionize Tesla's workers in California and New York, respectively, but Elon Musk has thwarted all attempts so far. In addition, as Teslarati points out, numerous Tesla workers have become millionaires in the past despite being non-unionized, thanks to the company's stock-based compensation programs. In an infamous tweet from May 2018, Musk seemed to threaten Tesla workers with the loss of stock options if they formed a union. "Nothing stopping Tesla team at our car plant from voting union. Could do so tmrw if they wanted. But why pay union dues & give up stock options for nothing?" read the tweet. The National Labor Relations Board ordered Musk to delete the tweet, but the billionaire appealed the court order.
How UAW’s Unrealistic Contract Demands Would Backfire on Union
September 13, 2023 // In the current talks, Fain demanded a 46% increase in base pay for hourly workers. With base wages currently ranging from a reported $17 per hour for temporary workers to $32.32 for top-scale assembly workers, the 46% jump would put the range between $24.82 and $47.18 per hour, or $51,600 to $98,100 a year in annual pay. But that’s just the start. The union is demanding a 32-hour work week, for which workers would receive 40 hours of pay. That’s like paying for five days’ worth of groceries, but receiving only four days of food. The UAW’s “pay more for less” demands would bring the true hourly range for workers to between $31.02 and $58.98 per hour. The median hourly wage for all manufacturing workers across the U.S. is $26.59 per hour. At nearly $59 per hour, UAW workers could earn 50% more per hour than registered nurses and 59% more per year than elementary teachers.
Here’s how a union strike could impact Ford — and what Jim Cramer thinks about the stock
September 6, 2023 // The risk of a walkout by the union has also created near-term uncertainty for General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA) — the Dutch owner of the Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep brands, among others. The UAW's current labor contract covering 146,000 workers at the Big 3 American automakers expires at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 14. Jim Cramer's advice: He would not look to buy more Ford on weakness nor would he look to sell Ford stock at this point. Club name Ford, which employs the most UAW members at 57,000, has seen its stock drop more than 6% in the past month. Over the same stretch, GM, which has 46,000 UAW members, declined roughly 9% and Stellantis, which has 43,000 union workers, fell roughly 7%. No matter where the talks lead, the automakers are going to see significant increases in their labor costs. The question is whether they have enough inventory to offset complications from work stoppage.
UPS cuts 2023 forecasts, fights to regain business lost during US labor talks
August 10, 2023 // United Parcel Service (UPS.N) cut its full-year revenue and profitability targets on Tuesday as the world's largest package deliverer faces higher labor costs and fights to win back U.S. business lost during tumultuous contract talks with the Teamsters. UPS reached a tentative five-year deal for some 340,000 U.S. employees represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union shortly before the July 31 expiration of their contract. In the run-up to the deal, as the union threatened to strike, customers diverted more shipments than expected to rivals, UPS CEO Carol Tome said on a conference call with analysts.
‘UPS dug their heels in’: Teamsters UPS strike plans emerge, could affect 30 percent of parcels
July 21, 2023 // “If we are unable to hire, properly train or retain qualified employees, we could experience higher labor costs, reduced revenues, further increased workers’ compensation and automobile liability claims, regulatory noncompliance, customer losses and diminution of our brand value or company culture, which could materially adversely affect us,” the company said. Teamsters chief asks White House not to intervene if UPS workers strike Teamsters spokespeople said last Friday that the hiring of nonunion workers is an affront to the collective bargaining process and makes negotiations more difficult.
San Fran socialists killed historic Anchor Brewing, critics say
July 19, 2023 // But locals such as Greenberg told The Post that a cadre of Democratic Socialists of America drove the push to unionize Anchor’s modest 61-member workforce — in hopes of inspiring the masses to “take on the power of capital.” In 2020, the Anchor Union’s first contract kicked hourly pay up by as much as 28% — a substantial bump that exacerbated the company’s pandemic slump. “I’m very sympathetic to the workers, but there also has to be some reality,” Roth said. “And that’s the problem with socialism: in the real world, the economic and math tenets quite literally do not add up.”
Prominent auto analyst on UAW contract talks: ‘I think we’re going to see a strike’
June 22, 2023 // Auto analysts at Bank of America feel confident in the likelihood of a United Auto Workers strike of at least one of the Detroit automakers later this year — and they expect the union to secure wage and benefit improvements that result in 25% to 30% higher labor costs for the companies over the four years of the contract. That's according to comments made Wednesday by John Murphy, managing director and lead U.S. auto analyst in equity research at Bank of America, during the financial institution's annual "Car Wars" presentation. The event was hosted by the Automotive Press Association. John Murphy, managing director and lead U.S. auto analyst in equity research at Bank of America, expects UAW members to be on the picket lines this September against at least one of the Detroit Three automakers. “I think we’re going to see a strike on Sept. 15," said Murphy. The UAW's current contracts with Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Stellantis NV expire Sept. 14. Talks on a new agreement are slated to start this summer. Murphy said he's highly confident in at least one strike happening, and that the chances of a subsequent strike at one of the other automakers is "much higher than normal."
CA Farmworkers’ Right to Unionize by Mail May Change
March 8, 2023 // If a majority voted to unionize, the employer had to recognize the union. Labor advocates say this process poses significant barriers for farmworker unionization, as many workers fear employer retaliation. More than half of California’s farmworkers are undocumented. Also a 2021 Supreme Court decision put limits on union organizers’ access to growers’ property. Farmworkers are not covered by the union protections afforded most other workers under the National Labor Relations Act. California’s agricultural workers didn’t gain the right to unionize until 1975, when Gov. Jerry Brown signed the Agricultural Labor Relations Act, after years of United Farm Workers activism to improve work conditions.