As the UAW fights for jobs, and the automakers work to lower labor costs, the two sides could find common ground. That’s because the automakers can lower their labor costs by hiring new workers at entry-level wage rates of $14 and $16 per hour, thereby lowering their average labor cost per worker.
Under the current contract, GM and Chrysler can hire an unlimited number of entry-level workers until 2015 while Ford’s contract is capped at 20%.
Already, Chrysler has lowered its total labor costs more than Ford and GM because it has filled many of the more than 2,800 jobs it has announced since June 2009 with entry-level workers.
That has helped Chrysler cut its total labor costs per worker from nearly $76 per hour in 2006 to $49 per hour in 2010.
http://www.freep.com/article/20110703/BUSINESS01/107030439/UAW-Detroit-3-prepare-face-off-around-table?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|FRONTPAGE|p
[Found at http://www.richgibson.com/blog/]
