Auto Industry Labor Costs in Perspective
"The auto industry occupies a special place in American folklore.1 The phrase “America’s love affair with the automobile” appears in the American Heritage dictionary, as a usage example under the entry for “love affair.”2 An Internet search for the phrase returns hundreds of thousands of matches.3 The College Board’s study guide for the Advanced Placement exam in U.S. History dedicates an entire chapter to “The Automobile in American Life.”4 And the idea that “What’s good for General Motors is good for the country”—although misquoted—still resonates with many Americans.5

Thus, it is no surprise that the auto industry receives a great deal of scrutiny in the popular press. This scrutiny was particularly intense in the final months of 2008,6 when a controversial assistance package of $13.4 billion from the U.S. Treasury provoked a debate on whether auto industry compensation costs were excessive. Data from the BLS National Compensation Survey (NCS) for 2009 allow auto industry compensation costs to be viewed in relation to those in other manufacturing industries..."