Wall RSS FeedMexico’s auto unions agree to cut wages
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008Wage concessions were apparently key to convincing Ford Motor Co. to direct many of the 4,500 new jobs involved in building Fiestas to the Ford plant in Cuautitlan, on the outskirts of Mexico City. Union leaders at the plant told The Associated Press they had agreed to cut wages for new hires to about half of the current wage of $4.50 per hour.
“We agreed to it,” said Ford union leader Juan Jose Sosa Arreola. “We need to be more competitive. That’s the truth. That’s a reality.”
Jobs still flowing south
The UAW had hoped to preserve American jobs by offering a two-tier wage system last fall, cutting starting wages for new U.S. workers by half to about $14.20 an hour. But it hasn’t worked — the jobs are flowing to Mexico, where starting wages at some plants also have been two-tiered, to as little as $1.50 per hour with a lot less of the related pension and health care costs of U.S. workers.
