Should The Detroit 3 Base Worker Pay Off Performance Rather Than Raises?

U.S. automakers may seek to start providing as much as 15 percent of union workers' compensation in performance bonuses and lump-sum payments, emulating how their Japanese counterparts and salaried employees are paid.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler Group may try to avoid granting annual raises to their 107,000 hourly employees as they negotiate new contracts with the United Auto Workers this year, said Sean McAlinden, chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research.