What ALL employers (union and non-union) can learn from the United Auto Worker (UAW) strike and labor agreement

I recently listened to a great podcast from The NY Times (“The Daily”) on the UAW’s strike and recently negotiated labor agreement with the “Big Three” US automakers (Ford, GM and Stellantis, formerly Chrysler).? See link to podcast below. The podcast really got me thinking about the domino effect this strike and labor agreement (still being voted on for approval by workers) may have on BOTH union and non-union employers.

UAW’s President – Shaun Fain – implemented some crafty strategies that are likely to be copied by other unions in the near future, including not having the workers strike all at once. Instead, he kept the automakers guessing as to which plant workers would strike on any given day/week.

Among the key terms negotiated by the UAW are the following:

·?????? 11% initial wage increase

·?????? 25% overall pay increase over 4 years

·?????? Reinstated Cost of Living increase

·?????? Workers can reach top wage levels in 3 years vs 8 years

·?????? Higher employer contributions to pensions / retirement plans

·?????? Workers have more rights to strike in the future over potential plant closures

Key impact from the labor agreement:

The wage increases and several other terms negotiated in this one deal were more than the UAW had achieved in their labor agreement negotiations in the past 25 years, COMBINED.? For US automakers that are still non-unionized (including Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Volkswagen), the UAW has said they will now aggressively target such plants. As of this writing, Toyota and Honda have already announced wage increases that are closely aligned to some of the increases given to the UAW union members. ?

Key takeaways for employers and HR departments:

·?????? Be prepared! It seems highly likely that unions in other industry sectors will be emboldened by the UAW’s recent success and seek to gain members in plants and facilities for the first time, or try again where they have failed in the past;

·?????? Think about how your company and operations would be impacted by a union campaign and/or selective strike; ???

·?????? Look at the market competitiveness of your wage, benefits and compensation programs (especially those that apply to your hourly/union eligible workforce);

·?????? Make sure you have trained your managers and executives on what they can, and cannot say to employees with respect to union organizing attempts, bargaining and in anticipation of a strike;

New York Times Podcast:

“A Historic Strike (And Win) for Auto Workers.” The Daily, The New York Times, October 31, 2023

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0ehOA6EPrHZbyacrVNcJTp?si=DFeCtyzhQ8m-nfL__kUkUw