WAYNE, Mich. (WXYZ) — United Auto Workers union contract negotiations continue in week three of the strike.
On Monday, the UAW made a counteroffer to General Motors' Sept. 21 contract proposal and currently, Ford Motor Co. has laid out a record contract offer the UAW has yet to respond to.
Ford's contract proposal includes:
When shown the offer breakdown, UAW Ford employee Frank Wells said, "20% ain’t good enough."
Kiethon Miller, who also works for Ford, in machining said, "So our leadership has asked for 40% and that’s where I stand."
Originally, the UAW was seeking a 40% wage hike and now, leadership has stated that they are looking for minimum hike of 30%.
The gap in pay increase seemed to be the top issue for most UAW workers 7 Action News spoke to.
Wells told us that eliminating wage tiers and the other offer points sound great.
"I think that’s awesome. I like that part of the deal," he said.
Even though he would like a higher pay increase, Miller told us that if UAW President Shawn Fain were to sign off on the contract proposal, he would feel good about it.
We also spoke to Justin Fleck, who is a UAW member and a line operator for Ford.
"If I were to sign that now, I wouldn’t sign it for one — it’s not everything we were asking for," Fleck said.
Flick said he's referring to pay and "long-term commitment."
When asked why a 20% pay boost isn't enough, all UAW members we spoke to referenced 2008, saying Ford promised them their money would come back when their wages were cut then so now, they deserve that money and their raise.
UAW leadership has yet to respond to the offer. Ford leadership has gone on the record saying if they were to meet all UAW demands, it could force company bankruptcy.
Since the beginning of the strike, Ford has laid off 930 employees. They're all layoffs that the company said are directly related to the strike.
