Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) at Fiat-Chrysler (FCA) in the US have voted in favour of a new four-year labour contract with the company.
The UAW said UAW FCA US members ratified the 2019 Collective Bargaining Agreement by an overall 71%.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
“Every full-time production employee currently at FCA will be at top rate by the end of this four-year agreement,” said Cindy Estrada, UAW Vice President and Director of the UAW FCA Department. “All temporary workers now have a defined pathway to full time and top pay as well.”
The ratified contract includes a package of a USD9,000 per full-time member signing bonus, performance bonuses, two 3% annual raises and two 4% lump-sum payments.
“It is not easy in pattern bargaining to be the final Detroit 3 contract,” said UAW President Rory Gamble. “It means a much longer period of negotiating. Our negotiating team at the UAW and those local national negotiators were able to keep pattern and consequently negotiate a contract that will lift many lives during the life cycle of this contract. They are to be congratulated for their focus and perseverance.”
“We are pleased to have reached a new agreement that allows us to continue our record of adding good-paying UAW-represented jobs,” FCA North America Chief Operating Officer Mark Stewart said in a statement.
The ratification follows a lawsuit from General Motors alleging that FCA bribed union officials over many years to corrupt the bargaining process and gain advantages over rivals. FCA has dismissed the claims, which also come against the background of a planned merger with Groupe PSA.
General Motors endured a month-long strike from its UAW members before a four-year collective bargaining agreement was struck with the UAW.
The UAW has said the contract with FCA included a commitment by FCA to invest USD9bn, creating 7,900 new jobs over the course of the contract, including a new plug-in SUV to be built at the Warren Truck Assembly plant in Michigan.
