Hyundai said Monday it will raise factory worker pay 25% by 2028, matching the general wage increase won by the UAW during that period. Toyota raised factory pay 9% to 10% starting in January, while Honda said it will increase wages 11% during the same period.
Labor experts say the increases are at least in part aimed at thwarting UAW President Shawn Fain's strategy of trying to organize U.S. auto plants run by foreign automakers and Tesla in order to increase the union's bargaining power. Fain said terrified auto executives at nonunion plants are raising wages, and he called Toyota's pay increase the UAW bump.
“UAW, that stands for ‘You Are Welcome,’” he said.
About 146,000 UAW members are voting on new contracts with General Motors, Ford and Jeep maker Stellantis that give them 25% general wage increases over the next four years and eight months. When cost of living wages are factored in, workers will get about 33% raises, with the top assembly line employee making about $42 per hour.
Toyota and Honda also accelerated the time it takes for a starting employee to reach the top pay rate, also matching or coming close to the time period in the new UAW contracts.
Harry Katz, a professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University, said it’s likely the UAW settlement contributed to the raises at the nonunion factories.
“There’s also a strong labor market, the companies are doing very well,” Katz said. “They’ve always wanted to stay nonunion, and they try to stay close to the Detroit top-tier wages.”
In announcing its factory pay increases, Hyundai wouldn’t say how much the hourly wage is at its factory in Montgomery, Alabama, or how much it will pay at an electric vehicle factory under construction near Savannah, Georgia. By early next year the company said it will have increased factory worker pay 14% in the past year.
Katz estimated that Hyundai now pays around $25 per hour, and he says the nonunion plants' retirement, health care and other benefits are typically not as good of as what UAW workers get.
“Hyundai continuously strives to maintain competitive wages and benefits commensurate to industry peers,” Jose Munoz, Hyundai's chief operating officer, said in a statement.
With its increases, Toyota’s top factory worker pay will go to $34.80 per hour in January. Honda wouldn’t say what its hourly rate will be, but analysts say it likely is comparable to Toyota’s.
Katz said the UAW’s new contract probably won’t help the union get workers at the nonunion plants to join. The plants, he said, are in areas of the country that are often suspicious of unions.
“Detroit’s wage has been higher than the nonunion before,” he said. “There’s always been a difference and they just haven’t been able to organize them. It doesn’t hurt them to have won such a large deal, but I don’t think it’s going to make that big of a difference.”
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
Tesla, the car company run by Elon Musk, reported Wednesday that it sold more vehicles in the past three months after boycotts hit hard earlier this year, but profits still fell sharply. Third-quarter earnings fell to $1.4 billion, from $2.2 billion a year earlier. Excluding charges, per share profit of 50 cents came in below analysts' estimate. Tesla shares fell 3.5% in after-hours trading. Musk said the company's robotaxi service, which is available in Austin, Texas, and San Francisco, will roll out to as many as 10 other metro areas by the end of the year.
Starbucks’ AI barista aims to speed service and improve experience. Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune Business Editor, explains its impact on workers and customers.
