SEATTLE—In 2013, outside of Boeing, a third of production workers at local aerospace parts manufacturers—companies that get tax breaks intended to preserve good jobs in the state—earned between $10 and $15 an hour, an analysis of state data shows.
DETROIT—Heading into contract negotiations with the UAW, GM and Ford are considering asking to create a new tier of lower-paid union workers in their U.S. factories. This new pay rate for some lower-skilled jobs would help the car manufacturers lower labor costs as they compete with Asian and European rivals.
TOKYO—Toyota Motor Corp will change the way it pays factory workers, focusing on their performance rather than their seniority. Toyota’s new arrangement, designed to attract young talent, will apply to about 40,000 employees, or about 60 percent of its workforce.
NEW YORK CITY—A new study has found that pay for U.S. manufacturing employees has lagged over the last decade, even as jobs are now returning to the country as the recession fades. According to the National Employment Law Project, the median manufacturing wage fell by 5.2 percent between 2003 and 2013.
HAMMOND, IN—UAW-represented employees at Lear Corp.’s seat assembly plant here have ratified a new contract ending a wage structure that pays new-hires less than their veteran colleagues.
According to the 2014 ASSEMBLY State of the Profession study, a majority of assembly professionals are happy with their jobs today. Manufacturing engineers are slightly happier than design engineers and the happiest assemblers work in the transportation equipment sector. However, location, company size and other factors can also influence happiness.
"Happy Days Are Here Again” was a popular song back in the 1930s. Assemblers in many industries have been singing an updated version of the tune lately, because the new golden age of American manufacturing has begun.
DETROIT—If you hope to get a raise that finally feels like one, it helps to work in the right industry. Historically, at this stage in the economy’s recovery, pay would be rising in most sectors. But five years after the Great Recession officially ended, raises remain sharply uneven across industries.
