The United Auto Workers (UAW) is pushing for higher pay, better job security, and stronger protections and benefits for workers in the auto industry, especially at Ford, GM, and Stellantis.

Quick Scoop: What does the UAW want?

Think of the UAW’s agenda as a mix of “catch‑up” for past losses and “big swing” demands for the future.

1. Big wage increases

The union is demanding major raises to match years of inflation and booming company profits.

  • Double‑digit wage increases over the life of new contracts.
  • Earlier rounds of bargaining featured asks around a 40–46% raise over four years to push top pay into the mid‑$40s per hour.
  • The UAW argues that CEO pay at the Big Three has jumped roughly 40% in recent years, while real pay for many workers fell behind.

2. Shorter hours, same pay

A headline demand has been a shorter workweek without a pay cut.

  • A 32‑hour workweek (effectively four days) with 40 hours’ pay has been on the table in recent bargaining.
  • The union frames this as a way for workers to actually have time for family and life instead of working 60–80 hour weeks to get by.

3. End “tiers” in the workforce

The UAW wants to get rid of pay and benefit systems that treat newer or certain groups of workers as second‑class.

  • Eliminate tiers so workers doing similar jobs end up on the same wage and benefit scale.
  • Faster progression to top pay for new hires.
  • Stronger paths out of temp status into full‑time, permanent jobs.

4. Stronger protections for temp and lower‑paid workers

Temporary and lower‑tier workers have been a big focus.

  • End “abuse of temp workers,” including long‑term temp status at lower pay and weaker benefits.
  • More predictable schedules and better job security for these workers.

5. Job security and plant‑closure protections

With EVs, automation, and offshoring in the background, job security is a central demand.

  • Protections and pay guarantees if a plant closes or production is moved.
  • A “Working Family Protection Program” where companies must keep paying workers (often via community‑service work) if they idle a plant.
  • The right to strike over plant closures to give workers leverage if companies shift jobs elsewhere.

6. Better benefits and retirement security

The UAW is also trying to rebuild what earlier contracts took away.

  • Restoration or strengthening of pensions and retirement benefits, especially for newer hires who are in 401(k)-type plans instead of traditional pensions.
  • Significant increases in retiree pay, arguing retirees “built these companies” and should share in current profits.
  • More paid time off so workers are not forced into excessive overtime just to make ends meet.

7. Health, safety, and EV transition issues

Recent UAW messaging also leans into broader workplace and industry changes.

  • Stronger health and safety standards on the job, including in high‑risk manufacturing environments.
  • A say in how the transition to electric vehicles happens, so workers in engine and transmission plants are not simply left behind as technology changes.

Why now and why so “audacious”?

The UAW’s demands are intentionally bold, and even its own president has called them “audacious.”

  • The Big Three have reported strong profits, and the union wants members to get a larger share instead of seeing most gains go to executives and shareholders.
  • Workers argue they fell behind after concessions during earlier crises (like the 2008–2009 financial crash) and years of high inflation.
  • Recent high‑profile labor wins in other sectors have also raised expectations that “record profits should mean record contracts.”

From the companies’ side, they warn that some of these asks—like a 32‑hour week with full pay and very large raises—are unrealistic and could damage competitiveness, especially as they invest heavily in EVs and compete with non‑union automakers.

TL;DR

The UAW wants:

  • Much higher wages and more paid time off.
  • A shorter workweek with no pay cut.
  • An end to tiers and temp abuse.
  • Strong job‑security and plant‑closure protections.
  • Better pensions, retiree pay, and health/safety standards.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.