UAW and Chrysler Reach Agreement

By Brendan Moore

10.10.2007

The strikes are getting shorter, anyway...

5:31 PM: Chrysler and the UAW have reached a tentative labor agreement after what was approximately a 6-hour strike by UAW workers at Chrysler plants in the U.S.

Details of the new 4-year labor agreement were not immediately available, but both UAW and Chrysler sources confirmed that the deal had been agreed to late this afternoon.

Ron Gettlefinger, UAW president, called the second strike in less than 30 days against one of the Big 3 after an 11 AM deadline passed this morning with no agreement. Gettlefinger made a point of speaking to reporters immediately, saying, "This agreement was made possible because UAW workers made it clear to Chrysler that we needed an agreement that rewards the contributions they have made to the success of this company."

Mr. Holiefield, director of the UAW’s Chrysler department, stated, "Once again, teamwork in the leadership and solidarity in the ranks has produced an agreement that protects jobs for our communities and also protects wages, pensions, and health care for our active and retired members."

Gettlefinger typically sets a strike deadline as the UAW and an auto manufacturer get close to terms in order to put more pressure on both sides to make a deal, and he followed his same M.O. in this instance, just as he did with the GM negotiations.

It will be interesting to see just how far the Chrysler/UAW agreement deviates from the GM/UAW agreement signed last month. Cerberus was reluctant to fund the pension fund at the same rate as GM did in their UAW agreement, and there were also some prickly issues around outsourcing parts and transportation jobs that bedeviled these labor talks.

We will give you more information as it becomes available.

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