TM Toyota Motor Corporation

The United Auto Workers union's top negotiators, with only a few days left until contracts with Detroit auto makers expire, appear confident that tens of thousands of factory workers are about to get a raise.

UAW officials have been tight-lipped about the timetable for a new contract, but negotiators for workers at General Motors Co. and Ford Motor Co. have both indicated this week that winning higher wages is a priority. The UAW, for instance, published a video on Facebook on Friday featuring its vice president in charge of Ford negotiations, Jimmy Settles, saying it has been too long since the last raise.

"We haven't had a raise in 10 years," Mr. Settles said. "We're going to make it happen…it's just how much." That video came two days after a message from the UAW's lead GM negotiator, Cindy Estrada, that said the union is addressing "current wage inequities."

A contract covering about 140,000 hourly workers expires Monday night, but negotiators are expected to continue talking well past the deadline. Typically, a so-called target company from among the Detroit 3—including Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV—is chosen by the UAW and that company sets the pattern for the bargaining.

UAW officials have indicated that target will be chosen by Monday.

GM and Ford have been solidly profitable over the past four years, leading many UAW workers to demand raises for the highest-seniority workers (currently making about $28 an hour), while also making it easier for entry-level workers to be promoted beyond a job classification that pays roughly $19 an hour.

Mr. Settles said UAW officials are "very determined" to address wages. "I don't think too many people in America can say they haven't had a raise in 10 years."

Ms. Estrada, in her message to local chapters of the UAW, said "we have made it crystal clear that the proposed contract we bring back to you must address current wage inequities, [and] ensure that all UAW-GM members get a share of the wealth we are creating."

To win wage increases, UAW officials may need to be creative. Because Ford and GM have sharply higher all-in hourly compensation costs than Nissan Motor Co., Toyota Motor Corp., and others, other benefit costs—such as medical expenses—may need to be curtailed.

The UAW's Ford negotiators last week released a separate video saying they wouldn't agree to concessions in this round of bargaining.

Write to Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 11, 2015 16:15 ET (20:15 GMT)

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