What is the average U.S. autoworker's wage?
On average, U.S. autoworkers on manufacturing production lines, earned about $28 an hour according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Because of their tenure, many people in the UAW make $33 an hour and have overall benefits which far exceeds what new employees get ($17 an hour) when they join the company.
I don't like the outrageous pay some of these CEOs make at the Big Three auto manufacturers but that's capitalism. Ford CEO (Jim Farley), made $21 million in total compensation which includes stock incentives. Carlos Tavarez, the CEO of Chrysler/Dodge, earned $24 million. Mary Barras, CEO of General Motors, brought in the most at $28 million. She makes more than twice that of most CEOs of large U.S. companies. Barras has taken on a huge role and the Board was very confident in her abilities to build market share, decrease inefficiencies, and enhance the company's profitability.
What does happen when the roles reverse, which is in fact happening as women are surpassing men in income due to having better education levels? None of this is seen more profoundly than with African American woman. As more of them are graduating high school than ever before, less African American men are graduating, which has accelerated the gap. How might this impact their communities? It will be interesting to see.