Chrysler workers voting on two-tier wage contract
By Dee-Ann Durbin
Associated Press
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DETROIT — United Auto Workers officials pressed for ratification of a tentative contract with Chrysler LLC as local union members continued to vote on the agreement yesterday. Meanwhile, low-level talks were proceeding at Ford Motor Co., the last of the three automakers in this year's contract talks.
At least five UAW locals representing more than 8,500 hourly workers in Michigan, Ohio, Missouri and Delaware held ratification votes yesterday. Results weren't expected until late yesterday or today. A majority of Chrysler's 45,000 UAW members must ratify the tentative agreement before it can take effect.
Jerry Fogarty, who works at a Chrysler engine plant in Trenton near Detroit, said he planned to vote against the contract. Workers are angry and feel like the company is taking advantage of them, he said.
"It's what they're doing to us all around, taking benefits away and the other stuff you hear on the news," he said. "I'm voting no and so's everybody else."
On Thursday, the contract suffered its first major defeat, when a local representing 2,100 workers in suburban St. Louis rejected the labor pact. Union officials said workers at the Fenton truck plant were bothered by the contract's creation of "core" and "noncore" workers, with newly hired noncore workers being paid a lower hourly wage.
But not everyone opposes the deal. Workers at a Chrysler engine plant in Kenosha, Wis., voted overwhelmingly Thursday to approve the agreement. The UAW local in Kenosha represents around 800 workers.
The agreement was reached Oct. 10, the same day the union announced that General Motors Corp. workers had approved a similar contract. If workers vote it down, negotiators must go back to the bargaining table.
UAW leaders appear to be concerned about the fate of the contract. On Wednesday, UAW vice president General Holiefield sent a memo to local union leaders asking all appointed union representatives to sign the memo endorsing the agreement.
"With teamwork in the leadership and solidarity in the ranks, we will prevail and our members will be best served," Holiefield said in the memo.
Several labor experts said it was unprecedented for the UAW to ask its leaders to sign such a pledge. "This sort of has a Stalinist feel to it. At the same time, the stakes are really high," said David Gregory, a labor law professor at St. John's University.
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| Automakers' contract status A summary of contract talks between the United Auto Workers and Detroit's three automakers. CHRYSLER LLC: At least five local unions representing more than 8,500 workers were voting yesterday on a tentative agreement between Chrysler and the UAW that was reached Oct. 10 after a six-hour strike. A majority of workers must approve the contract before it can take effect. Locals voting were in Newark, Del.; Detroit; Trenton, Mich.; Fenton, Mo.; and Twinsburg, Ohio. The tentative agreement suffered its first defeat Thursday when it was overwhelmingly rejected by union members in Fenton, Mo. Union leaders there said workers object to a plan to pay lower wages to some non-assembly workers. FORD MOTOR CO.: Ford is the last automaker to get into this year's round of contract talks. Subcommittees were meeting yesterday but the negotiations haven't yet reached the final stages, a person briefed on the talks said. The source, who requested anonymity because the talks are private, said negotiations are likely to go through the weekend before intensifying next week. GENERAL MOTORS CORP.: GM workers approved their four-year contract Oct. 10. The agreement was reached last month after a two-day strike. GM workers will get ratification bonus checks of $3,000 starting Thursday. |
