Chrysler and the UAW heads agree on new labor contract

Details of the new tentative agreement between the Chrysler Group and the United Auto Workers are scarce but early statements indicate that the main terms are that Chrysler plans to invest around $4.5 billion in facilities around the US for retooling and basic upgrades. This will allow the Chrysler Group to offer new vehicles, refreshed vehicles and new components for said vehicles while also helping Chrysler to add around 2,100 jobs – accounting for almost a 10% growth in their number of union workers. The new labor contract between the Chrysler Group and the UAW covers roughly 23,000 workers
Chrysler is the last of the Detroit automakers to come to a tentative agreement with their group of UAW leaders and workers but now that the negotiators from the two groups have agreed upon the terms of the new labor deal, it will go to the various local UAW branches around the country to be voted on for ratification. Should the majority of the Chrysler UAW workers around the United States vote in favor of the new labor contract, it will go into effect but should the workers vote it down, negotiators from both groups will head back to the drawing board to reach an agreement that makes everyone – or at least the majority of the workers – happy.

Chrysler appears to have taken a similar route to that followed by General Motors and Ford Motor Company in adding jobs while also committing a massive amount of money to the improvement of American production facilities. However, it is expected that as the smallest and least financially sound of the Detroit Big 3, Chrysler’s end of the new labor deal would include less of the hefty bonuses seen in the new contracts from Ford and GM. Chrysler will likely go the route of avoiding annual pay increases, instead offering annual bonuses like the other two American automakers but with less cash flow to go around, it is expected that Chrysler would try to find a way to protect what resources they have while also sweetening the deal for their union laborers.

We can expect more information on the new Chrysler/UAW labor deal as the day goes on. Stay tuned to TorqueNews.com for continuing union contract talks along with all of your news from around the automotive world.

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