Chrysler on Saturday confirmed a new national labour agreement with its key union, following ratification by United Auto Workers (UAW) members.
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The newly privatised automaker and the UAW reached a tentative agreement on 10 October after three months of bargaining and a strike lasting six hours.
“We are pleased that our UAW employees recognise that the new agreement meets the needs of the company and its employees by providing a framework to improve our long-term manufacturing competitiveness,” said Chrysler vice chairman and president Tom LaSorda.
Folowing earlier reports of rejection by workers at some plants, the vote was hardly unanimous.
The UAW said the final tally was 56% in favour of the four-year pact among production workers, and 51% among skilled trades workers. 94% of office and clerical workers voted in favour of the agreement, and 79% of UAW-represented Chrysler engineering workers approved the contract.
“Our members had to face some tough choices, and we had a solid, democratic debate about this contract,” UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said. “Now we’re going to come together as a union – and now it’s on the company to move ahead, increase their market share and continue to build great cars and trucks here in the US.”
“There’s no question this was a difficult set of negotiations during difficult times for the US auto industry,” added UAW vice president General Holiefield, who heads the union’s Chrysler department. “But with the support of our membership and local leadership, we have an agreement that secures jobs and wages and protects health care and pension benefits.”
The new contract covers approximately 45,000 active workers at Chrysler and more than 55,000 Chrysler retirees and 23,000 surviving spouses. It will expire on 14 September, 2011.
