UAW Begins Pressing For Ratification Of GM Deal
DETROIT (WWJ) -- As the UAW prepares to explain its tentative deal to GM workers, there's already word that the agreement will help keep the carmaker competitive.
"GM has really been able to solidify the framework going forward for the next four years to allow them greater stability in their costs, but also to mitigate any risk of potentially escalating labor costs going forward," said Mike Robinet, who heads the global forecasting team at IHS Automotive, an industry consulting firm.
Robinet says the deal keeps fixed costs in line, and gives GM some stability, which is always important in the auto industry. He says it ties in nicely with other moves General Motors has taken to keep its costs in line.
"Certainly, compared to a couple of years ago, General Motors is in a much, much better cost position."
The UAW will brief local leaders on specifics of the deal Tuesday morning. Shortly after that meeting, the details will be made public.
Published reports say the deal includes a $5000 signing bonus, enhanced profit sharing and a $3 an hour raise for entry level workers, who currently make half of what veteran UAW members earn.
That entry level pay scale is also a big issue at Chrysler, where negotiators will try to pattern the GM deal.
"We need to bring our lower tiered new employees up a dollar or two, because they're not getting no benefits to help their families," said Chrysler worker Bud Lacrosse. "That's what the union's all about."
LGaCrosse and tier two worker Jeff Thomas spoke with WWJ's Ron Dewey. Thomas saying extra pay would be a help.
"I don't expect to make what they make, tier one. That's days gone by."
Bloomberg News is reporting that Chrysler is asking the UAW to agree to lower signing bonuses than the $5000 that GM workers will reportedly get. Chrysler is said to be looking for a bonus in the $3500 range.
Nobody involved is commenting.
Talks at Chrysler are expected to heat up on Tuesday, when CEO Sergio Marchionne returns from a foreign trip.
Further complicating things, a growing issue with the schedule at Chrysler's "Global Engine Plant" in Dundee, Michigan. That plant recently went to a rotating schedule, where workers alternate working day and night shifts. That facility has its own contract with the UAW. Unlike the national contract, it doesn't forbid strike.
Workers in Dundee have voted to authorize a walkout, if needed. It's not certain if that will become an issue in the national Chrysler talks, or if it will be handled separately.
It's expected that the union will look to have deals completed at both General Motors and Chrysler before it turns its attention to Ford. The Ford talks could be the most difficult, because union workers are already upset over bonus payments to salaried workers.
Ford is also the only auto company that the union is allowed to call a national strike against.
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