Union officials at Volkswagen ’s assembly plant in Puebla, Mexico, say they will call a strike Saturday morning if management does not produce a satisfactory wage agreement. The Independent Union of Volkswagen Workers is asking for an 8.3% wage increase while VW has only offered an increase of 2.5%.
The Puebla plant has a history of labor issues. Just last August, a strike over wages caused the plant to halt production for 5 days. The strike was resolved after the union accepted VW’s offer of a 4% wage increase plus a 1.5% gain in perks, such as grocery vouchers.
According to Automotive News, the average wage for hourly workers at the plant is $320 pesos ($28.25 dollars) per day, plus $110 pesos ($9.71 dollars) in benefits such as transportation and food vouchers. The plant, which employs 10,264 hourly workers, produces Jetta A5s, Jetta A4s, New Beetles and Golf/Bora/Jetta station wagons for Mexico and world markets and is planning to produce 400,000 vehicles this year.
The possible strike only adds to VW’s current struggles in North America. According to the Detroit Free Press, Volkswagen ’s North America unit has lost about $4 billion over the past four years. But Volkswagen of America executive vice president, Adrian Hallmark, says VW is committed to the U.S. market and plans on selling 500,000 vehicles annually within the next 5 years. Hallmark is also pushing for a new North American plant.
