Chrysler News: UAW-FCA Workers Reject The Proposed Contract

William Maley · October 1, 2015

The United Auto Workers has announced today in a statement that 65 percent of members at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has rejected the proposed contract that was reached by the two parties last month.

“As I said at the press conference: ‘What I love about our organization most of all is that no matter what we do, what action we take, the ultimate decision and the power of the union is our members and they make the final decision,’” said UAW President Dennis Williams.

“That is the design of our constitution and who we are ... We don’t consider this a setback; we consider the membership vote a part of the process we respect.”

The UAW will be meeting with national bargaining committee and FCA council to discuss the issues that caused the rejection and figure out the next move. There are three options on the table that the UAW can choose from: go back to the negotiation table with FCA, move on to Ford and GM, or issue a strike.

FCA said in a statement it was disappointed in the result in the vote.

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required), The Detroit News, United Auto Workers, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles

Press Release is on Page 2

“As I said at the press conference: “What I love about our organization most of all is that no matter what we do, what action we take, the ultimate decision and the power of the union is our members and they make the final decision.”
That is the design of our constitution and who we are.
We will gather the issues together; notify FCA that further discussions are needed.
We don’t consider this a setback; we consider the membership vote a part of the process we respect.
We will be meeting with the UAW-FCA National bargaining committee and council to discuss the issues.”

Statement Regarding UAW Ratification Vote

FCA US is disappointed that UAW members voted not to ratify the tentative agreement.

The bargaining teams on both sides worked hard, for many days and nights, to craft a transformational agreement that would adequately reward the commitment of our workforce while ensuring the Company’s continued success and competitiveness. Striking the right balance in these two objectives has been the most difficult thing to accomplish in these negotiations, but after many hours of dialogue and debate between the UAW and FCA US leadership, the Company felt that a just and equitable compromise had been reached.

The memories of our near-death experience in 2009 are vivid to this day in the minds of most of us at FCA. A large number of new employees have been brought into the Group since then who, thankfully, did not have to endure the pain and sacrifices that were required of the workforce then.

But it is that knowledge and those memories that continuously reinforce the FCA leadership’s resolve to never let those events repeat.

While significant progress has been made since the events of less than seven years ago, much more work remains to be done and challenges remain while new, significant ones surface. The cyclical nature of the automotive business demands that while we must recognize the need for rewarding employees during times of prosperity, we must also protect against the inevitable market downturn. This agreement accomplished both of these objectives.

The tentative agreement was designed to yield a strong and competitive FCA US, thus providing stability for our workforce and opportunity for future growth and investment in an increasingly complex global marketplace.

The Company will make decisions, as always, based on achieving our industrial objectives, and looks forward to continuing a dialogue with the UAW.

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G. David Felt · October 2, 2015

Would be interesting to know specifics of what the members did not like about the package to reject it. I hope this comes out soon as I would like to know.

William Maley · October 2, 2015

Would be interesting to know specifics of what the members did not like about the package to reject it. I hope this comes out soon as I would like to know.

I believe a lot of this comes down to the contract leaving the two-tier wage system in. Not getting rid of it.

El Kabong · October 2, 2015

First rule of contract negotiations: never accept the first offer, especially if your employer was/is on a roll while the last one was in effect. Sergio may be panicking now, but the bottom line is still healthy enough to prod for something more. It may not even be money per se.

G. David Felt · October 2, 2015

Would be interesting to know specifics of what the members did not like about the package to reject it. I hope this comes out soon as I would like to know.

I believe a lot of this comes down to the contract leaving the two-tier wage system in. Not getting rid of it.

Forgot about that two tier system, it will cause a big issue for GM and Ford too I think.

October 3, 2015

In 1941, the UAW striked GM to start the first premium health care provider, Blue Cross Blue shield, whom is the only health Insurance that the Auto corporations provide health insurance to the union work force. Is the health care cost really in a crisis or just an imaginary created illusion?

If you look at their 2013,2014 annual report, you will see X-UAW Pres Bob King, Ford UAW VP Jimmy Settles and the previous UAW GM VP, Joseph Ashton are on the health insurers board of directors.

Joseph Ashton served as director at the New York Federal Reserve, district 2 Buffalo branch, in 2006-2009 when the 2 tier was literally forced on the membership in 2007 and during the 2009 bankruptcies, which was the result of a artificially created financial crisis and, just like the 70's high fuel prices, the cost of fuel at the pump since 2005 Katrina, raised national average prices to between $3.50, and in some places over $4.00 per gallon. Those prices did not correct to normal levels until February of 2015, back down closer to $2.30 a gallon.

During the same time as director at the Fed, Ashton was serving as the UAW"s Treasurer during that same period and the UAW strike fund depleted from $900 million to $500 million dollars, when there was clearly no striking going on.

This Joker is now serving as Director of board at GM, since his retirement in 2014 from the unions executive board, and today, he is also managing the Retiree VEBA fund.

Dennis Williams is a Director at UAW labor Navistar Corp and made $ 120,000 in 2014 serving in that position, His retirement is tied to a healthy share of stock ownership in that Corporation, so does this not create conflict of interest in serving union members there? (Again, this is against the ethic practices identified in UAW's Constitution)

Its time to get the ropes out and do some hanging.

In the 1960's, Walter Reuther spoke out against unjust economic moral standards when the CEO, who is just another employee of the Automotive Corporate, earned 400 times more annually then the average union auto worker, working for the same company.

Today, the CEO of FCA, made $ 73 million last year, that's 1200 times more than the average American auto worker. Why does the union leadership not act on driving those wages down like the UAW founder did in the past?

What happens when communism takes over the unions.(this is opposed and punishable by expulsion from the UAW, written in the UAW Constitution)

The Communist controlled union will allow the Executives to have excessive gains in contracts while allowing suppression and struggle on the workers.

During this same time, the Communist sides with labor and gives verbal support to the worker and points out the Conservatives are the problem for the imbalances.

This is done in order to motivate and/or convince the worker to believe that the current system has failed the Labor class and make them believe that the only solution is to want Socialism or Communism instead.

BEWARE, THIS IS THE PSYC OBJECTIVE OF THE COMMUNIST so to make you believe you want something that you would not normally desire. That is the reason why Walter Reuther was fighting Communists in the UAW organization which is what the membership needs to be doing now on their own.

They (the Communist) work to create false crisis so to make you act against your own best interest.

Communist leaders won't take themselves out of power, it will have to be by force, by the membership. Just as important in the private sector with your politicians.

When America does this, the working class people will then regain the control over their own union affairs and government.

The Traditional Communist union policy is partnered with the management and under the control of the state. US union policy has changed to be the same when America opened the trade Agreement with the Peoples Republic of China, which was finalized in 1979. Through that trade policy negotiations, the America labor unions had also adopted that same policy.

As a fuel crisis occured, Chrysler was steered into bankruptcy in 1979 and then Doug Fraser became the first time ever that a union leader became a director of the board at a major US Corporation as this was part of the deal for the government loan at that time.

Lenin scientific theory (Leninism-social and economic change) says that capitalist imperialism can't survive against a socialist or Communist economy because in America people have to pay on loans and mortgages, unlike a communist nation where the common working class don't have the same burdens because they don't have rights and could never afford to own private property. For this same reason, an economic slowdown affects each economy differently.

Capitalist nation would have to transition to socialism or bust.

When this contract ends, workers need to continue the solidarity and work to organize. The UAW has all of its members in the USA, it is a domestic union, so then it needs to pull itself from the AFL-CIO trade federation, whom supports internationsl trade policies, along with the Teamsters, USW and UMWA, to unite forces into an Alliance (the CIO CONGRESS) so to work on strengthening US labor policy and rebuild and grow the American middle class again.

This can only be accomplished by union workers becoming more active in their unions. The union won't do something for the workers, unless the worker is willing to do something for the peoples organization!!!

There are problem fires burning all around, especially the one in their own solidarity house. The water drop (union worker) needs to extinguish the fire but when attempting to put this fire out by himself or only as a cup of water (a small portion of the members) the heat will evaporate these small portions.

When the water drops all come together, it can become a flowing river with unstoppable raging force to extinguish all the fires, including at the big house.

There is serious need for this river.

The union was established for progress of the people not to make profits for the Corporations! There has been no other organization in all of mans history that has done as much for the advancement of the working class as has the UAW under Walter Reuther. That is way it was necessarily for the Communist to take it over so to take away the power and strength from the Republic.

If your a Lawyer and need a big case, there are a bunch of retired and active union people who are in need of your service because the Smith Act is still on the books today, it is time for America to put it into use.

If you want to start your own business, there is a huge need for a union organization who will represent its members and not be dictated over by the Fed bank system or Corporations.

May God Bless the USA

October 3, 2015