GM Offers UAW Bigger Bonuses, Health-Care Gains for Second Tier
- Second-tier assembly line workers to get top medical benefits
- Ratification payouts at least double those of Fiat Chrysler
The United Auto Workers union won a sweeter deal with General Motors Co. than the one with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV that members approved last week. The tentative agreement offers lower-paid entry-level workers the pay and medical benefits that long-time factory hands receive.
GM’s ratification payment of $8,000 for all members is at least double what those at Fiat Chrysler received. And the profit-sharing formula will remain the same as in the previous contract -- not the revised Fiat Chrysler formula -- which should provide bigger payouts at a company the size of GM. The tentative agreement, reached late Sunday, will give the so-called Tier 2 workers the same health-care benefits and eventually the same wage as senior workers. It goes to rank-and-file members for a vote.