DETROIT, Mich. – General Motors made about 930 temporary workers permanent, full-time employees at 30 of its 52 facilities represented by the United Automobile Workers (UAW) union, the Detroit Free Press and FOX Business report.
UAW told the newspaper that Ford Motor Company also moved 592 temporary workers to full-time on Monday and more conversions are expected at both companies in the coming months.
Temps are union members, but according to the Free Press, they often work alongside permanent employees, doing the same work for half the pay and fewer benefits.
Changing temporary workers to permanent was a sticking point in negotiations during the UAW strike that lasted about 6 weeks in late 2019.
As a result of negotiations, Vox reports that a process was created for temps to become permeant employees after three years on the job and for newer hires to earn the full pay rate in four years instead of eight. Top wage rates were reportedly increased from about $30 to $32 per hour.
Although this is a step in the right direction, UAW says it wants more workers permanently hired by the major manufacturers.
“UAW members sacrificed during our 40-day strike to create a defined path for temporary workers to seniority members in the 2019 National Agreement," said Terry Dittes, UAW vice president General Motors, in an email to the Free Press. "We remain in conversations with General Motors at several locations where we believe additional members should be moved to seniority status under the agreement."
UAW tells the Free Press that Fiat Chrysler also plans to convert temps to permanent employees, but the company is still working on its implementation.
