DETROIT, March 21 (UPI) -- United Auto Workers leaders say they are gearing up for a campaign to win back benefits lost when U.S. automakers were losing money.
"If they don't restore everything [union workers] gave up, the membership is going to knock it down. The bonuses that were just announced are just ridiculous," said UAW Local 900 Plant Chairman Bill Johnson at a Ford Focus plant in Wayne, Mich.
Union workers are reviewing huge pay packages for executives and profits posted by Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. last year, The Detroit News reported Monday.
Ford has earned $9.3 billion in the past two years. Its chief executive officer, Alan Mulally, has been paid $300 million since 2006, the newspaper said.
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The UAW, meanwhile, gave up thousands of jobs and allowed performance bonuses to be spent on healthcare benefits. They also temporarily gave up cost of living raises, known as COLAs.
Unions also allowed car companies to start new workers at a lower hourly rate. New permanent hires can be paid $14 per hour. Veteran workers receive an average $28 per hour.
But unions now say GM and Ford are making huge profits despite few new hires this year, meaning the new lower wage was not a significant contributor to company earnings.
"In 2009, when we adopted some modifications, there were a number of things that were suspended. ... Hopefully those will be back on the table and restored," said Jeff Manning, president of UAW Local 31 in Fairfax, Kan., where GM runs an assembly plant.
About 1,200 union leaders are meeting in Detroit this week to plan for the negotiations on the contract that expires Sept. 14.
