In a move that can only be characterized as slitting their own throats, 65% of UAW local members have voted against the proposed four-year labor agreement worked out by the International union and FCA.
In a statement issued after the final tally, FCA said, “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.”
Such is not the thinking of the newer hires who want it all. Now. The agreement took significant steps toward maintaining US production and phasing out the two-tier wage system that the new hires hate raising their wages over the contract to $25.35 an hour. Total guaranteed increased compensation was up to $25,000 over the course of the four-year agreement.
UAW President Dennis Williams said, “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.”
All AutoInformed can say is – We hope union members at FCA can speak Spanish, and are prepared to move to Mexico and earn $3 an hour.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
