Catherwood LibraryILR School

Wages for new hires at American auto companies, which for years far outpaced those in other industries, have fallen to 20 percent less than the national average. The decline stems in part from concessions made by the United Auto Workers last year in the face of soaring gas prices and health-care costs. As a result, newly-hired auto workers are seeing paychecks half of what fellow employees hired before the concessions are earning. Industry experts see the lower wages as a possible key to the U.S. auto industry's resurgence, allowing companies to operate with greater potential profitability.