UNITED Auto Workers union president Dennis Williams vowed yesterday to reject the creation of “third-tier” wages for some workers making car parts.

Mr Williams told the union’s national bargaining convention in Detroit that he had heard discussion of introducing a lower tier for staff alongside the two wage levels that currently operate.

“I’m thinking they got too many damn tiers now,” he said.

Union members are already seeking to abolish the two-tier system, under which some unionised workers earn a
baseline $28 (£18.80), while others doing the same jobs but registered as “second tier” receive a maximum of $19.90 (£13.40).

But Ford and General Motors want to expand the use of a lower categorisation, which has already seen some staff building battery packs paid less than the second-tier starting wage.

Car sales in the United States are booming and Mr Williams said workers who had helped the companies survive difficult periods should “equally share in the good times.”