Detroit Sets Its Future on a Foundation of Two-Tier
Wages
By BILL VLASIC

DETROIT -- They are a cornerstone of Chrysler's
unlikely comeback: 900 employees turning out a Jeep
Grand Cherokee sport utility vehicle every 48 seconds
of the working day at an assembly plant here.

Nothing distinguishes them from other workers at the
Jefferson North plant, except their paychecks. The
newest workers earn about $14 an hour; longtime
employees earn double that.

With the economy slumping and job creation once again a
pressing issue in the White House and Congress,
advent of a two-tier wage system in Detroit is spiking
employment for one of the country's most important
manufacturing industries. The new jobs, which are seen
as long term, are being watched closely by economists,
executives in other industries and Washington policy
makers eager to increase employment in manufacturing
and other areas.

For many, the opportunity for steady employment is
welcome, even at a lower wage and with no certainty
when it might

What was once seen as a desperate move to prop up the
struggling auto industry is now considered an integral
part of its future. The demand for $14-an-hour
manufacturing jobs is providing Detroit's Big Three
automakers with a ready pool of eager new employees.
Last year, Chrysler was flooded with inquiries about
the jobs here. It froze the list after receiving 10,000
applications.

The companies say the two-tier wages are paying off.
Despite the disparity, there is no appreciable
difference in the Grand Cherokees produced on the shift
dominated since last fall by the lower-paid workers,
the plant manager says. At General Motors, savings from
its two-tier workers are crucial to production that
began last month of an inexpensive, subcompact car in
suburban Detroit.

Two-tier wage systems have been tried in the airline
industry and others with spotty success. Usually the
lower wages disappear rather quickly when the economy
picks up. But the arrival of vastly different wage
rates in auto factories is a seminal event in an
industry long influenced by a powerful union devoted to
equal pay






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