UAW chief balks at new lower-pay tier

DETROIT – The leader of the United Auto Workers union has rejected a new level of lower wages for members who make auto parts ahead of contract talks with automakers that start in summer.

There have been reports that General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. may propose a new pay level that is lower than the two existing groups.

Speaking Wednesday at the union’s national bargaining convention in Detroit, which sets the agenda for the union’s bargaining efforts with the auto companies and other industries, President Dennis Williams said the UAW already has too many tiers of lower wages.

Williams is under pressure from union members to end a second level of wages that starts around $15 per hour, about half the $28 per hour made by longtime workers.

“I’m thinking they got too many damn tiers now,” said Williams, who received a standing ovation.

Contract talks between Fiat Chrysler, GM, Ford and the UAW, which represents about 137,000 workers at the three companies, start this summer.

The current contract expires in September.