ANALYSIS: The Big 3–UAW Pay Raise of (TBD)% Will Make History

No matter what wage increase the negotiators for the United Auto Workers and Big 3 automakers ultimately agree upon, the scope of that pay raise will likely tower over the pay structure that the parties have been building for decades.

Bloomberg Law’s analysis of the 10 most recent Big 3–UAW contract renewals shows that negotiated wage increases for workers have never topped 3% in a single year. The history contrasts sharply with the UAW’s current demand of a 36% wage hike over four years (which would average 9% annually), and even with the automakers’ current offers of about 20% (about ...