Oct29
4-year Chrysler contract passes
Metro Detroit carries vote
October 28, 2007
BY TIM HIGGINS
DETROIT FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
After emotional debates over concessions and job security, a majority of UAW members voted to ratify a 4-year national labor contract with Chrysler LLC, the union announced Saturday.
The final ballots were cast at Chrysler's Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois early Saturday morning, where Local 1268, representing 3,400 workers at the small-car plant, voted to reject the contract, 55-45, said a person briefed on the election.
But it was hardly enough to make up for the strong turnout and solid yes votes in metro Detroit on Wednesday that locked up what had, until then, been a close election.
"Our members had to face some tough choices, and we had a solid, democratic debate about this contract," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement. "Now we're going to come together as a union -- and now it's on the company to move ahead, increase their market share and continue to build great cars and trucks here in the U.S."
The contract, covering 45,000 UAW members, passed with 56% of production workers in favor of it, along with 51% of skilled-trade workers, 94% of office and clerical workers, and 79% of engineering workers, the UAW said in a statement.
With the ratification, Chrysler joins General Motors Corp. in greatly reducing the labor cost gap against nonunion workers at U.S. plants of foreign rivals, such as Toyota Motor Corp.
Ford Motor Co. has yet to reach a tentative agreement with the UAW.
"We are pleased that our UAW employees recognize that the new agreement meets the needs of the company and its employees by providing a framework to improve our long-term manufacturing competitiveness," Chrysler Vice Chairman and President Tom LaSorda said in a statement.
Long, hard road to victory
This contract did not come easy.
A tentative agreement was announced after a 6 1/2 -hour strike on Oct. 10, followed by a week and a half of painful voting by union locals representing members at 59 Chrysler facilities around the country.
The wins, many at tiny locals or smaller facilities, were often overshadowed by the embarrassing losses at large assembly plants.
Overwhelming approval Wednesday night by four large union locals in the Detroit area seems to have ensured the deal passed, though some opponents had held out hope that workers at the large assembly plant voting Friday and Saturday in Belvidere could turn out in such a major showing as to throw the whole thing off.
"There's no question this was a difficult set of negotiations during difficult times for the U.S. auto industry," UAW Vice President General Holiefield, who heads the union's Chrysler Department, said in a statement. "But with the support of our membership and local leadership, we have an agreement that secures jobs and wages and protects health care and pension benefits."
What happens next
The contract, which is similar to the one ratified by workers at GM, shifts Chrysler's retiree health care obligation to a trust under the auspices of the union and creates a two-tier wage system under which new hires to so-called noncore jobs will make half as much as core workers.
Opponents worry that will cause strife within the union ranks and complained that the deal lacked the specific future product guarantees as found in the GM deal. Eight locals, representing an estimated 16,300 workers, rejected the deal.
The UAW argued that Chrysler had promised to keep operating all but a few facilities and has identified more than $15 billion in potential investments. Supporters say it was the best deal possible in difficult times.
"What happens now is that Chrysler has to work under a collective agreement that does not satisfy half of the members, at least. I don't think there is that much distance between those that voted for it and those who voted against it," said Gary Chaison, professor of industrial relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.
"I think a lot of the people who voted for it are just saying 'I don't like it, but this isn't the time for a fight.' The others are saying 'I don't like it, but this is the time for a fight.' "
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your car lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com.
This story posted by LeaseTrader.com, the automotive service company that lets people transfer out of their Car Leases early. If you're looking to swap a lease or transfer out of your car lease, please visit www.leasetrader.com