After UAW locals in Belvidere, Ill., finished voting on Saturday, the union announced the deal had been approved by 56% of production workers, 51% of skilled-trade workers, 94% of office workers and 79% of engineers. The announcement was both a relief and a victory for union president Ron Gettelfinger, who had come under criticism from some factions of the union.
Dissidents complained that the deal gives Chrysler meaningful concessions — including the establishment of a union-managed healthcare trust and a two-tiered wage scale for future hires — without winning strong guarantees of future production and staffing levels. One worker complained to The Detroit News that “there are too many holes in this contract. The union has always fought for the future; now they are doing the opposite.”
But in the end, cooler heads prevailed, and the union membership voted for a contract that Chrysler says will help it to better compete against lower-cost rivals such as Toyota Motor Co. Chrysler vice chairman Tom LaSorda said the company is “pleased that our UAW employees recognized that the new agreement meets the needs of the company and its employees by providing a framework to improve our long-term manufacturing competitiveness.”
Both sides still have considerable work left to do. The union now turns its attention to Ford Motor Co., which might try to force through even deeper cuts as it deals with continuing sales declines. Chrysler, meanwhile, is expected in the months to come to dramatically rejigger its vehicle portfolio and other aspects of the business as new owner Cerberus Capital Management LP begins to make its mark on the automaker. — Lou Whiteman
See UAW statement
See Detroit News story on the Chrysler vote
See Chrysler statement
See TheDeal.com story previewing the UAW talks with Ford
