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:: Sunday, November 21, 2004 ::

Detroit Diesel jobs preserved By Brett Clanton / The Detroit News
If approved, the new pact will replace a contract ratified in 1998, when the company was still owned by racing mogul Roger Penske.

That agreement was unpopular with workers because it established a two-tier wage scale that paid new workers less than veteran workers in the same jobs.

Employees hired after the 1998 contract start at $12 per hour and receive $1 a year raises for 13 years until reaching a wage ceiling. That compares with about a $21 per hour starting wage for workers who were hired under earlier contracts. Second-tier workers also receive reduced benefits and a 401(k) retirement savings account rather than a pension.

Workers wanted the two-tier wage and benefit scale rescinded in the new contract. But lower-tier workers will receive only modest gains, including an immediate raise of $1 per hour and a $1 per hour increase every year of the contract. The company will also boost contributions to their 401(k) retirement accounts by 35 cents to $1.85 per hour, but they still won't be eligible for a traditional pension.

posted 10:57 AM :: reference link :: 0 comments ::

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