Chrysler, UAW Reach Deals in U.S. & Canada In Line With Federal Guidelines for More Taxpayer Financing
Neither the United Automobile Workers union nor the company released details of the agreement, which modifies the union’s 2007 contract and reduces the amount of money Chrysler must pay into a new health care fund for retirees.
The union plans to have its 26,000 Chrysler workers vote on the deal by Wednesday.
“We recognize this has been a long ordeal for active and retired auto workers, and a time of great uncertainty,” the union’s president, Ron Gettelfinger, said in a statement. “The patience, resolve and determination of U.A.W. members in these difficult times is extraordinary, and has made it possible for us to reach the agreement we will present to our membership.”
The Canadian Auto Workers union said late on Sunday its members voted 87 percent in favor of a new collective agreement with Chrysler [CBS.UL] that will save the company about C$240 million ($198 million) annually.
The union made the steep concessions in order to try to help the besieged company qualify for billions of dollars in government aid in Canada and the United States and avoid liquidation.
“The reality is this was probably the most difficult and unprecedented time in the history of auto workers,” CAW President Ken Lewenza told Reuters.
