Friday, May 23, 2008
The American Worker
There's a company in Michigan, American Axle, that has been on strike for several weeks. Here's some of what they end up agreeing to: workers who were once eligible for 200 hours would top out at 160 hours of vacation time; holiday bonus: cut from $1,000 a year to $500; holidays; Five fewer; cost of living: new hires are not eligible; shift premium: Reduced from 5% and 10% for second and third shifts, respectively, to 55 cents and 80 cents per hour; breaks: Cut from two, 23-minute breaks to two, 15-minute breaks.
For instance, a skilled-trades worker who was paid about $33 an hour, including a cost of living increase in the last contract, would see their pay drop about $7, to $26 an hour. That buy-down would be about $55,600. Some pay is dropping down to $10 an hour.
And all this in a time when food and fuel are skyrocketing.
