Do auto workers really earn $73 an hour?
Posted
Dec 11 2008, 06:56 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
The New York Times debunks the claim that the Big Three auto workers earn $73 an hour. That number came from the car companies themselves during union negotiations, writes David Leonhardt.
But it isn't completely accurate. Yes, the companies do spend about $73 for every hour of unionized work, Leonhardt writes. Not all of that goes to the worker's pocket.
Here's how it breaks down:
Cash: All the basics -- wages, overtime and vacation pay -- add up to $40 an hour.
Extras: Health insurance and pension costs total about $15 an hour.
Retiree benefits: These are fixed costs, and the Big Three have a huge pool of retirees out there, Leonhardt writes. They add up to about $15 an hour.
So the true hourly salary for a union worker is about $55. That's about twice what the typical American worker makes. And it's about $10 more than what a nonunionized worker at Honda or Toyota makes, Leonhardt writes.
"There is good reason to keep GM and Chrysler from collapsing in 2009. (Ford is in slightly better shape.) The economy is in the worst recession in a generation. You can think of the Detroit bailout as a relatively cost-effective form of stimulus. It’s often cheaper to keep workers in their jobs than to create new jobs."
But, he adds, the Big Three will have to get smaller to survive.
