The CAW reaches a last minute agreement with Chrysler & Fiat.
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From: The Golden State
The CAW reaches a last minute agreement with Chrysler & Fiat.
From Automotive News:
That was the stumbling block. With that out of the way, the rest of the parties should... repeat... Should.... fall into place.
THE AUTO INDUSTRY BAILOUT
Chrysler, CAW reach tentative contract deal
Sides hope deal will help automaker avoid bankruptcy, complete Fiat deal
David Barkholz
The Canadian Auto Workers tentatively agreed tonight to new concessions that will save the struggling automaker $240 million annually and help the carmaker to try to avoid a bankruptcy filing, CAW President Ken Lewenza said at a news conference.
In exchange, the CAW got Chrysler and potential partner Fiat SpA to agree to keep its two Chrysler assembly plants open even if bankruptcy is unavoidable, Lewenza said.
General Motors and Ford Motor Co., which signed new CAW agreements earlier, have indicated their desire to get the same concessions as those negotiated with Chrysler, Lewenza said.
The agreement kept wages intact at about $35 an hour Canadian. But the union gave up break time, bonuses, tuition reimbursement, some supplemental pay and semiprivate hospital rooms. As part of the plan, the union agreed to institute Fiat's manufacturing processes as well.
The CAW also negotiated the creation of a retiree health care trust similar to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations negotiated in 2007 by the UAW.
Terms need to be ironed out, Lewenza said. But Chrysler has agreed to capitalize the fund adequately to support the benefits negotiated, he said. The fund will save Chrysler money because it transfers the obligation to the trust for seeing that retirees get supplemental benefits beyond those offered by Canada's national health care system. ...
The agreement also allows students earning considerably less than veteran workers to work additional hours at Chrysler plants.
The union said the cuts were demanded by Fiat, which said it would not consider aligning itself with Chrysler otherwise. There was no immediate comment on the deal from Fiat.
Windsor plant losing a shift
"We are extremely grateful to the CAW leadership and to its hard-working members for their openness in this challenging environment to create a new strategy that will lead this company on a path to success," Chrysler President Tom LaSorda said in a prepared statement.
Lewenza confirmed that Chrysler's minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario, will lose its third production shift as had the assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, where Chrysler produces the Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Charger and Challenger.
He said, though, that Chrysler had agreed to put the plants in the surviving part of Chrysler should the company be forced to seek Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States and bankruptcy protection in Canada.
A Chapter 11 filing could come as early as next week if the Obama administration doubts Chrysler's viability and withholds an additional $6 billion in federal loans that the company is seeking as it tries to complete a U.S.-mandated alliance with Fiat.
Lewenza said that threat caused the union to bargain "with a gun at our heads." The CAW will share the terms of the agreement with its 10,000 Chrysler hourly members this weekend. He said ratification will be completed by 8 p.m. Sunday ET.
Chrysler wanted $19 an hour in labor savings to bring labor costs in line with those of Toyota Canada. Lewenza would not spell out how the C$240 million in concessions translates into hourly savings.
Chrysler needs its stakeholders, including the CAW and UAW, to agree to concessions before an April 30 Treasury Department deadline.
In a letter to Chrysler Canada workers last week, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli and LaSorda said that without concessions "Chrysler Canada's manufacturing operations will not survive long-term."
Chrysler has received $4 billion in Treasury rescue loans to date and another $1 billion from the Canadian government
Chrysler, CAW reach tentative contract deal
Sides hope deal will help automaker avoid bankruptcy, complete Fiat deal
David Barkholz
The Canadian Auto Workers tentatively agreed tonight to new concessions that will save the struggling automaker $240 million annually and help the carmaker to try to avoid a bankruptcy filing, CAW President Ken Lewenza said at a news conference.
In exchange, the CAW got Chrysler and potential partner Fiat SpA to agree to keep its two Chrysler assembly plants open even if bankruptcy is unavoidable, Lewenza said.
General Motors and Ford Motor Co., which signed new CAW agreements earlier, have indicated their desire to get the same concessions as those negotiated with Chrysler, Lewenza said.
The agreement kept wages intact at about $35 an hour Canadian. But the union gave up break time, bonuses, tuition reimbursement, some supplemental pay and semiprivate hospital rooms. As part of the plan, the union agreed to institute Fiat's manufacturing processes as well.
The CAW also negotiated the creation of a retiree health care trust similar to the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Associations negotiated in 2007 by the UAW.
Terms need to be ironed out, Lewenza said. But Chrysler has agreed to capitalize the fund adequately to support the benefits negotiated, he said. The fund will save Chrysler money because it transfers the obligation to the trust for seeing that retirees get supplemental benefits beyond those offered by Canada's national health care system. ...
The agreement also allows students earning considerably less than veteran workers to work additional hours at Chrysler plants.
The union said the cuts were demanded by Fiat, which said it would not consider aligning itself with Chrysler otherwise. There was no immediate comment on the deal from Fiat.
Windsor plant losing a shift
"We are extremely grateful to the CAW leadership and to its hard-working members for their openness in this challenging environment to create a new strategy that will lead this company on a path to success," Chrysler President Tom LaSorda said in a prepared statement.
Lewenza confirmed that Chrysler's minivan plant in Windsor, Ontario, will lose its third production shift as had the assembly plant in Brampton, Ontario, where Chrysler produces the Chrysler 300 sedan and Dodge Charger and Challenger.
He said, though, that Chrysler had agreed to put the plants in the surviving part of Chrysler should the company be forced to seek Chapter 11 reorganization in the United States and bankruptcy protection in Canada.
A Chapter 11 filing could come as early as next week if the Obama administration doubts Chrysler's viability and withholds an additional $6 billion in federal loans that the company is seeking as it tries to complete a U.S.-mandated alliance with Fiat.
Lewenza said that threat caused the union to bargain "with a gun at our heads." The CAW will share the terms of the agreement with its 10,000 Chrysler hourly members this weekend. He said ratification will be completed by 8 p.m. Sunday ET.
Chrysler wanted $19 an hour in labor savings to bring labor costs in line with those of Toyota Canada. Lewenza would not spell out how the C$240 million in concessions translates into hourly savings.
Chrysler needs its stakeholders, including the CAW and UAW, to agree to concessions before an April 30 Treasury Department deadline.
In a letter to Chrysler Canada workers last week, Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli and LaSorda said that without concessions "Chrysler Canada's manufacturing operations will not survive long-term."
Chrysler has received $4 billion in Treasury rescue loans to date and another $1 billion from the Canadian government
Last edited by guionM; Apr 25, 2009 at 05:22 PM.
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Posts: 254
From: OSHAWA
This deal strongly resembles what the CAW gave GM in the "shelf agreement" of 2006 and the last concessions given in 2008.
Do you still think the CAW is so militant?
Thread Starter
Registered User
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Posts: 13,713
From: The Golden State
The CAW's militant reputation was increased they got themselves expelled from the Canadian Labor Congress, have alienated themselves from other labor unions and have some members act pretty badly with regards to other strikes (outside the auto industry) that also added to their reputation (rightly or wrongly).
The Canadian government as well as the Government of Ontario (both far friendlier to unions than the tendancy of governments here in the US) took the CAW to task in their failue to not make enough concessions (and questioned their "good will" in bargaining), and when Fiat was talking about walking away from a Chrysler deal without getting wage concessions, they were almost literally looking dead at the CAW when they said it.
As a person who bought quite a bit of Chrysler stock back in 1991, and who stronly likes Chrysler LX cars (and still has the Challenger on his new car short list), I am glad the CAW came around, and if everyone else moves like mad, we might have Chrysler around for many years into the future.
But still, the CAW still has their reputation. And there's plenty of examples (past & present) that adds to it, or at the very least, justifies it.
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Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 254
From: OSHAWA
The CAW was born when it split from the US based UAW back in 1984 when the Canadian arm felt the UAW gave away too much to GM in concessions. Since then, the CAW has almost without exception taken a much harsher stance in negotiations than the American UAW has. Buzz Hargrove is the one person who I think of when I think of the CAW Though his predecessor was just as bad if not worse. Though Hardgrove is retired now, and although the new CAW leadership is more pragmatic, they still make the UAW look like company men for GM, Ford, & Chrysler.
The CAW's militant reputation was increased they got themselves expelled from the Canadian Labor Congress, have alienated themselves from other labor unions and have some members act pretty badly with regards to other strikes (outside the auto industry) that also added to their reputation (rightly or wrongly).
The Canadian government as well as the Government of Ontario (both far friendlier to unions than the tendancy of governments here in the US) took the CAW to task in their failue to not make enough concessions (and questioned their "good will" in bargaining), and when Fiat was talking about walking away from a Chrysler deal without getting wage concessions, they were almost literally looking dead at the CAW when they said it.
As a person who bought quite a bit of Chrysler stock back in 1991, and who stronly likes Chrysler LX cars (and still has the Challenger on his new car short list), I am glad the CAW came around, and if everyone else moves like mad, we might have Chrysler around for many years into the future.
But still, the CAW still has their reputation. And there's plenty of examples (past & present) that adds to it, or at the very least, justifies it.
The CAW's militant reputation was increased they got themselves expelled from the Canadian Labor Congress, have alienated themselves from other labor unions and have some members act pretty badly with regards to other strikes (outside the auto industry) that also added to their reputation (rightly or wrongly).
The Canadian government as well as the Government of Ontario (both far friendlier to unions than the tendancy of governments here in the US) took the CAW to task in their failue to not make enough concessions (and questioned their "good will" in bargaining), and when Fiat was talking about walking away from a Chrysler deal without getting wage concessions, they were almost literally looking dead at the CAW when they said it.
As a person who bought quite a bit of Chrysler stock back in 1991, and who stronly likes Chrysler LX cars (and still has the Challenger on his new car short list), I am glad the CAW came around, and if everyone else moves like mad, we might have Chrysler around for many years into the future.
But still, the CAW still has their reputation. And there's plenty of examples (past & present) that adds to it, or at the very least, justifies it.
The CAW lost the government's support after they tried to get their own representative elected as an MP for the NDP party to run against the current Conservative party's JIM FLAHERTY (current finance minister) and they failed.
It's no wonder the Canadian government has no sympathy for the autoworker's union.
They also lost some NDP's support after Buzz Hargrove endorsed the current Liberal government of Ontario and asked people to vote strategicaly to keep the conservatives out which insulted many ultra left wing voters which always counted on the CAW to support NDP.
So when it comes to political moves, the CAW has been a failure in the eyes of voters and their own membership.
In Ontario, we have the teacher's unions and OPSEU which are equally militant to the CAW but have a bit more pull with the governments.
The CAW agreed to a huge amount of work rules to boost productivity as well as full implementation of GMS, reductions in paid time off, shorter breaks and a two tier wage system before GM even asked for the so called bailout.
We never had the equivalent to the UAW's "job bank" and can't remember a significant strike such as the American Axle strike and we have had just as many plant closings and outsourcing as our American counterparts.
I am upset in the union for having signed agreements after agreements with GM while everybody knew our pension fund was severely underfunded for many years. A militant union would have done something to force the company to live up to their obligations. GM made money in Canada right up until last year when all hell broke loose but the corporation took the money made here and bought people out in the US and paid people indefinitely to sit on their bums in the job banks.
I can see why people think the CAW has a more militant approach but once you thoroughly examine all the issues and can see through their posturing and actually see the union reps on the shop floor, it's an eye openner.
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