Chrysler Deal is still uncertain
by EVANDER KLUM
The tentative contract between Chrysler LLC and the United Auto Workers union last week had been hailed as it put a stop to a brief strike launched by the union. It was also regarded as the document that will continue the partnership between the automaker and its workers as they both deliver quality vehicles to the auto market for its consumers. However, as the contract is on it way for approval of the rank-and-file members, many have rejected it.
In the initial voting, the pact had been trashed by six local units of the union representing almost 11,000 UAW represented Chrysler workers. On the other hand, four locals which represent 5,500 workers approved the pact. Officials of the UAW had been releasing percentages of the votes and not the exact figures of the members who voted for the pact making it hard to keep an eye on the running of total votes.
The contract if approved will cover the 45,000 UAW represented Chrysler workers. In Detroit, UAW officials had started campaigns for the support of the pact. On Tuesday and Wednesday, big locals in Indiana and Michigan will be voting on the contract.
��It��s going to be close. They��re going to work very hard here at the end to pull this together,�� David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said Monday.
According to Mike smith, director of the Walter P. Reuther Library at Wayne State University, the UAW haven��t rejected a single contract since what Chrysler workers did in 1982.
The oppositions made by the UAW locals were due to the second tier wages for new employees with $14 rate per hour and plant guarantees of just the present production. Compared to the contract reached by the UAW with General Motors (makes original Camaro performance parts), Chrysler��s is far less extensive.
According to Canadian Auto Workers president, Buzz Hangrove, UAW and Chrysler negotiators will go back to the bargaining table in case the contract will not be approved by the rank-and-file members. ��If you��re a bargainer, then you��ll know if it��s been rejected you��ll have to go back and try to get a better deal in those areas,�� Hargrove said.
Chrysler��s presence is strongly felt in the North American auto market but not actually in the Global domain. Recently sold to Cerberus Capital Management LP, Chrysler��s new owner needs a partner that will help give the automaker a global presence like what GM, its fiercest rival is doing.
According to David Weil, an associate professor at Boston University, if the Chrysler deal will not be ratified, it will greatly damage the credibility of the UAW chief, Ron Gettelfinger.
��If you think about what they��re negotiating and what a major change this agreement really is ... it��s not surprising that this thing has not sort of just sailed through,�� Weil said.
