Plants, Parts and Pay on the Table as Fiat Chrysler Tries to Avert Midnight Strike

by Steph Willems

Published: October 10th, 2016

plants parts and pay on the table as fiat chrysler tries to avert midnight strike

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles must make some pricey commitments to head off a midnight strike by its Canadian autoworkers.

Bargaining teams from FCA and Unifor, which represents Detroit Three autoworkers in Canada, worked throughout the weekend to nail down a contract deal patterned on the recent General Motors agreement.

Without product commitment for its Brampton assembly plant and Etobicoke casting plant, among other sticking points, workers could walk off the job tonight.

As per tradition, FCA’s product timeline is set in Jello, not stone. Recent product delays have the Unifor team demanding a clearer future for its Windsor assembly plant, which produces the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica, as well as the Brampton plant, which makes FCA’s rear-drive cars.

According to the Windsor Star, workers are “cautiously optimistic” they can avoid strike duty.

“We have a lot of new workers and this is the first time they’ve ever been in this position,” said Frank Mosey, strike coordinator for Unifor Local 444. He added, “If the deal includes jobs and investment, there’s a good chance our members will ratify.”

The 1,200 new workers in Windsor heap costs if the deal is modeled on GM’s agreement, which includes pay increases for new hires (while keeping the 10-year pay grid), an overall pay bump for traditional employees, boosted signing bonuses and lump sum payments.

On the product front, Unifor wants something to fill the void left in Etobicoke by the canceled Chrysler 200 and Dodge Dart. The facility manufactures aluminum die castings, pistons, and various engine and transmission parts.

Brampton needs a new paint shop, as well as assurances for its future. The Dodge Challenger and Charger move to a new Alfa Romeo-sourced platform in 2018, while the Chrysler 300’s future remains hazy. FCA’s product pipeline calls for a potential 300 redesign in 2020.

Windsor has less to worry about. A full-size, Pacifica-based Chrysler crossover starts production in 2018, while the Grand Caravan should stay alive until the 2019 model year.

Meanwhile, FCA could stand to gain government cash in return for plant upgrades. A source close to the negotiations told the Star that officials from the automaker met with Ontario Economic Development Minister Brad Duguid and Environment Minister Glen Murray last week to discuss “a possible investment.”

Unifor saw its negotiations with GM sweetened by provincial and federal automotive funding programs, which could see the automaker recoup up to 40 percent of the $554 million (CAD) deal.

[Image: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles]

#Bargaining #BramptonAssembly #ContractNegotiations #ContractTalks #Fca #FiatChryslerAutomobiles #Unifor #UnionNews #WindsorAssembly

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

4 of 10 comments

Mikey on Oct 10, 2016

12:01 AM .. Is Tuesday morning. I don't know if FCA Canada has an identical agreement to GM Canada. Thanksgiving Day {today} is a statutory holiday. The Friday before Thanksgiving , is a negotiated paid holiday. At GM you were required to be at work the day before , and the day after, to qualify for the Friday. Unauthorized absence could cost you 2 days pay ? I find it odd that UNIFOR would pick Oct 10. Of course ,it could be a done deal, and will settle around 11:45 PM : )

Like Reply
- See 1 previous
- Lorenzo on Oct 10, 2016
  
  A "done deal"? Unifor and FCA already came to an agreement, and they're both dragging it out to the deadline just for show? Why would Unifor do that? Do they think Ford is the toughest nut to crack, or something? And why would FCA go along?
  
  Like
- JohnTaurus on Oct 11, 2016
  
  @Lorenzo Mikey has a special way of looking , at things.
  
  Like
Mikey on Oct 11, 2016

Tentative agreement reached , 11:56 PM , Who knew ? : ) They're will be lots of gnashing of teeth, and rhetoric , before ratification . It will ratify. Moving on to Ford ? The GM ,and now FCA agreement, will be a hard sell amongst the rank and file. For the past 8 years Ford workers have been told "we didn't need to be bailed out , like the other two did"..."We turned a profit, while the other two sucked on the government teat". i believe Ford Canada will settle , but ratification will be tight .

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Lou_BC Hard pass
TheEndlessEnigma These cars were bought and hooned. This is a bomb waiting to go off in an owner's driveway.
Kwik_Shift_Pro4X Thankfully I don't have to deal with GDI issues in my Frontier. These cleaners should do well for me if I win.
Theflyersfan Serious answer time...Honda used to stand for excellence in auto engineering. Their first main claim to fame was the CVCC (we don't need a catalytic converter!) engine and it sent from there. Their suspensions, their VTEC engines, slick manual transmissions, even a stowing minivan seat, all theirs. But I think they've been coasting a bit lately. Yes, the Civic Type-R has a powerful small engine, but the Honda of old would have found a way to get more revs out of it and make it feel like an i-VTEC engine of old instead of any old turbo engine that can be found in a multitude of performance small cars. Their 1.5L turbo-4...well...have they ever figured out the oil dilution problems? Very un-Honda-like. Paint issues that still linger. Cheaper feeling interior trim. All things that fly in the face of what Honda once was. The only thing that they seem to have kept have been the sales staff that treat you with utter contempt for daring to walk into their inner sanctum and wanting a deal on something that isn't a bare-bones CR-V. So Honda, beat the rest of your Japanese and Korean rivals, and plug-in hybridize everything. If you want a relatively (in an engineering way) easy way to get ahead of the curve, raise the CAFE score, and have a major point to advertise, and be able to sell to those who can't plug in easily, sell them on something that will get, for example, 35% better mileage, plug in when you get a chance, and drives like a Honda. Bring back some of the engineering skills that Honda once stood for. And then start introducing a portfolio of EVs once people are more comfortable with the idea of plugging in. People seeing that they can easily use an EV for their daily errands with the gas engine never starting will eventually sell them on a future EV because that range anxiety will be lessened. The all EV leap is still a bridge too far, especially as recent sales numbers have shown. Baby steps. That's how you win people over.
Theflyersfan If this saves (or delays) an expensive carbon brushing off of the valves down the road, I'll take a case. I understand that can be a very expensive bit of scheduled maintenance.