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Dear New Yorkers,
“Hot Labor Summer” is driving full speed ahead into what we could call “Auto Worker Autumn.”
For more than three weeks now, United Automobile Workers (UAW) members across the country have bravely been on strike. Meanwhile, the auto companies continue laying workers off and coming to the bargaining table with lowball contract proposals.
Nonetheless, auto workers forge ahead. Their strike is already historic, from attracting the first sitting president to a picket line, to what they are demanding: Wage increases of about 40%, reinstating cost of living protections, ending the two-tier system for wages and benefits, and job security in the EV transition.
The big auto company executives are on watch. They would be wise to remember that the longer they negotiate from a hardline bargaining position, the more their companies risk serious financial and reputational harm.
As a trustee and investment advisor to New York City’s pension funds, I’ve been really concerned about how the working conditions that led to the UAW strikes threaten the long-term financial stability of the Big Three auto companies.
After all, New York City pension funds hold significant stake in the financial, legal, and reputational health of auto companies. And collectively, we own a combined $147.5 million in assets in General Motors and Stellantis for New York’s nearly 800,000 current and retired public sector workers.
Just as I urged UPS, I sent letters urging the executives of General Motors and Stellantis to engage in constructive, good faith negotiations with UAW to promptly end the strikes. Disrespecting and underpaying workers doesn’t create long-term shareholder value. But investing in workers does.
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