Expert: UAW talks could bring end to 2-tier wage system [View all]

[Sherman A1]

The UAW could win the end of its second-tier wages through a phase-out period during upcoming contract talks, while tier-one workers could get a modest raise, one labor expert said Tuesday.

Kristin Dziczek, director of the Industry and Labor Group for the Center for Automotive Research, said she expects the UAW and Detroit automakers will agree to give first-tier employees who haven’t had a raise in eight to 10 years a small one, while entry-level workers would eventually become first-tier workers over a grow-in period.

Canadian auto workers have a 10-year system in which the hourly rate for entry-level workers progressively increases, and Dziczek expects the UAW to adopt a similar eight-year grow-in, which would help automakers keep labor costs down.

“I think the companies pretty much realize they’re going to have to give the first tier a raise and that the second tier will need to come up,” Dziczek said. “The eight-year grow in is not an agreed-upon thing going in; I think they know they have to do something about second-tier.”

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/2015/06/23/two-tier-phased/29184543/