The St. Louis Labor Tribune has jumped into the fray between the Troy Chamber of Commerce and the workers at Toyota, the largest employer in Troy. Ed Finkelstein shares his perspective with UAW organizing Troy benefits workers and the community…
Chamber: Pay raise goals of the UAW are “unlikely to mean much (as) Toyota … already pays high wages… competitive with the market. Really? It was only after the UAW reached a tentative agreement with the Big Three automakers following a weeks-long strike that suddenly Toyota announced it would increase wages at its U.S. factories by nine percent. Wonder when the last time its workers got a nine percent raise?
In new Big Three contracts, however, the UAW won immediate wage boosts of 11%, with a total of 25 percent increases over the 4.5 years of the contract for the highest paid; up to 160 percent increases for the lowest paid! Nine percent – nice – but certainly NOT “competitive with the market.”
The Big Three victories not only helped Toyota workers, but according to the Washington Post, “Honda, Hyundai, and Subaru announce[d] significant wage increases as well.” Way to go UAW!
