Ford, GM, and Chrysler Bonus Payments Cause Union Wages to Spike

Collective bargaining agreements reached between America’s “Big Three” automakers and the United Auto Workers this fall had bonuses so large they skewed the national average for union wage increases in the manufacturing sphere, according to Bloomberg Law data.

Workers at Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. received $9,000 ratification bonuses and 4% one-time payments in the first year of the contract while General Motors Co. employees got $11,000 ratification bonuses and a 4% one-time payment in the first year.

Unionized manufacturing workers secured an average wage increase of 4.3% in the first year of their contracts when bonuses ...