“Equal Pay for Equal Work: Autoworkers Strike to End Discrimination

For Striking autoworkers at Detroit-based General Motors the issue of equal pay is at the forefront of their struggle for a better deal from the corporation. GM workers at the company’s massive Lake Orion plant have gone on strike recently, in part due to unequal pay among autoworkers doing the same job—the same job for which many are being paid differently. At issue is the differential pay structure GM currently employs, which relies on unique classifications and seniority agreements to determine how much a worker earns for the same job. This arrangement is unacceptable to labor activists who are calling for an end to the wage discrepancies and for all autoworkers to be paid equally for the same job they do. The Detroit News reported on the strike, noting that “the United Auto Workers (UAW) have been pushing the company to end a two-tier wage system and pay the more experienced workers the same as those hired since 2007.” This equitable approach to compensation would ensure fairness among the ranks of GM autoworkers and aid in the fight for economic and job security. In addition to demanding equal pay for the same job, the UAW strikers are also asking for GM to offer a classroom apprenticeship program that would provide skilled workers with the necessary training and experience needed to secure a long-term career in the automotive industry. The union’s goal is to create sustainable jobs that will provide workers with stability and benefits, in response to the troubling rise of “precarious” work and economic instability for low-skilled or underpaid workers. Striking GM autoworkers are sending a clear message to the corporation that they will no longer stand for unequal pay for the same job. Fair wage equality and employment security are at the heart of their cause and are key to a better future for Detroit and its working families.