FCA and UAW Reach Deal in Final Hour, Avert Strike for Now

Mark Stevenson
by Mark Stevenson

On Wednesday night, as the deadline for strike action came closer and closer, the United Auto Workers-Fiat Chrysler Automobiles National Bargaining Committee announced they had “secured significant gains” over the last proposed tentative agreement that was widely rejected by UAW membership.

Details on the new agreement were not published.

The new proposed agreement averts a strike — for now — and will be sent Friday to local union leaders that comprise the UAW National Chrysler Council for discussion and voting.

“We heard from our members, and went back to FCA to strengthen their contract,” said UAW President Dennis Williams early Thursday morning in a statement. “We’ve reached a proposed Tentative Agreement that I believe addresses our members’ principal concerns about their jobs and their futures. We have made real gains and I look forward to a full discussion of the terms with our membership.”

FCA acknowledged they reached a new proposed tentative agreement with the union, but declined to give specifics due to the pending vote by UAW members.

This is the second tentative agreement to come from UAW and FCA in this year’s negotiations after the first tentative agreement was rejected by UAW membership. Workers cited their displeasure with the agreement’s failure to eliminate the two-tier pay system, a relic of the last collective agreement that helped prop up Chrysler and GM post-bankruptcy.

The two-tier pay system goes against one of the union’s core values of equal pay for equal work.

Workers also cited issues with “alternative work schedules” that would have seen them on four, 10-hour shifts instead of five, 8-hour shifts and switching between late night and early morning shifts within days. There were also no production promises in the last proposal, a detail that’s usually used as a sweetener for workers to accept the agreement by showing them long-term commitments to specific products.

If a proposed tentative agreement was not found Wednesday night and workers hit the picket lines, they would be entitled to $200/week in strike pay — but only once the strike entered its third week. The action could have cost the automaker $1 billion per week.

A ratified agreement will spell out the terms of employment for some 40,000 unionized FCA workers in the United States for the next four years.

Mark Stevenson
Mark Stevenson

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 3 comments
  • Anonymous Anonymous on Oct 08, 2015

    Good. Now BTSR and I can resume our impatient wait for Chrysler to produce a 300C Hellcat.

  • Xeranar Xeranar on Oct 08, 2015

    And I called it. This was clearly a way for leadership who has long-term social connections with management to play a middle-man and keep from burning bridges while intentionally sweetening the deal. It's pretty standard action for large industrial unions with independent staffing.

  • Dartdude The bottom line is that in the new America coming the elites don't want you and me to own cars. They are going to make building cars so expensive that the will only be for the very rich and connected. You will eat bugs and ride the bus and live in a 500sq-ft. apartment and like it. HUD wants to quit giving federal for any development for single family homes and don't be surprised that FHA aren't going to give loans for single family homes in the very near future.
  • Ravenuer The rear view of the Eldo coupe makes it look fat!
  • FreedMike This is before Cadillac styling went full scale nutty...and not particularly attractive, in my opinion.
  • JTiberius1701 Middle of April here in NE Ohio. And that can still be shaky. Also on my Fiesta ST, I use Michelin Pilot Sport A/S tires for the winter and Bridgestone Potenza for my summer tires. No issues at all.
  • TCowner We've had a 64.5 Mustang in the family for the past 40 years. It is all original, Rangoon Red coupe with 289 (one of the first instead of the 260), Rally Pac, 4-speed, factory air, every option. Always gets smiles and thumbs ups.
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