UAW officials intend to use the Fiat Chrysler agreement as a template for talks at Ford and GM, although Mr. Williams has said deals struck at the two more-profitable companies will reflect their stronger financial standings.
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Last month, a previous proposed contract was rejected by 65 percent of Fiat Chrysler workers who voted. About 40,000 Fiat Chrysler workers are covered by contract.
The United Auto Workers will likely seek a richer labor agreement with General Motors than it got from Fiat Chrysler as negotiations for a new contract intensify today.
“The company’s profit might raise expectations a little bit, but people mainly want to know that the pension fund remains intact and the health care stays the same”, said Tim Shoup, a UAW member at GM’s Flint Truck assembly plant. Recently, the union announced to move to GM for negotiating on labor agreement. That defeat forced the union to go back to Fiat Chrysler and negotiate bigger raises and bonuses along with several other key changes to the contract and also caused the union to overhaul its communication strategy.
It’s not clear what happens if members again reject the deal.
Beating Wall Street expectations, GM said it made $1.36 billion in net income in the third quarter, chiefly through record high profit margins in North America. “I voted for it. The membership told (UAW leaders) to address the wage and equity issues and they did, which surprised me”, said Bill Parker, a worker at the suburban Detroit plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan. As per the new pact, those workers will have earnings of around hourly $29 after a period of eight years.
The company said the new contract “represents an investment in our US workforce and recognizes its contributions to the company’s growth over the past six years”.
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Fiat Chrysler and its US union have a lot on the line with this second vote, which began Tuesday night and ends Wednesday. Under the 2011 contract, they got $1,000 for every $1 billion of profit in the region.
