The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia), October 11, 2007, Thursday

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The Augusta Chronicle (Georgia)

October 11, 2007, Thursday

ALL EDITION

SECTION: BUSINESS; Pg. C09

HEADLINE: Chrysler, workers cut deal

BYLINE: By Tim Higgins Detroit Free Press

DATELINE: DETROIT -

BODY:

Chrysler LLC and the UAW, after a 6 1/2-hour strike involving 34,000 workers, reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract Wednesday, dramatically easing tensions throughout a U.S. auto industry bracing for the impact of a second major work stoppage against a Detroit carmaker in 2 1/2 weeks.

Details of the tentative deal were not immediately made public, as is tradition with UAW negotiations, though it is described as sticking with the pattern set by the landmark agreement reached Sept. 26 between the union and General Motors Corp. That deal, officially ratified Wednesday by rank-and-file members, ended a two-day strike against GM.

As with GM's deal, the Chrysler-UAW agreement includes the creation of a retiree health care trust that will free the Auburn Hills automaker of billions of dollars worth of obligations in exchange for making some sort of up-front payment at a significant discount.

"This agreement was made possible because UAW workers made it clear to Chrysler that we needed an agreement that rewards the contributions they have made to the success of this company," UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement issued shortly before 5:30 p.m.

The tentative contract adds more wind to the sails of the automaker's new owner, Cerberus Capital Management, which took majority control of Chrysler in August and set off a frenzy of speculation over how the change would affect the UAW negotiations.

"I was nervous about these negotiations to begin with because you don't have a long relationship," said Arthur Wheaton, a labor expert at Cornell University.

The union is making plans to call its national Chrysler council to Detroit for a meeting about the terms of the agreement and to ask the council to approve the plan - a step required before it goes to the rank and file for ratification. The date for the meeting has yet to be set.

The deal brought to an end another dramatic day for Detroit in which 18 of Chrysler's 25 U.S. manufacturing facilities were struck. The strike, which began at 11 a.m., was called off when the deal was announced.

"Chrysler has had some real difficulty getting the union to go along. So I think they needed a little bit more drama in their situation," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor.

Unlike the two-day GM strike that began Sept. 24, Mr. Gettelfinger did not immediately hold a news conference to talk about the reasons for the strike at Chrysler.

At 11 a.m., workers flooded out of plants around the country. Picket lines formed even outside Chrysler headquarters, where hundreds of people blocked traffic in the streets.

At the Warren Stamping Plant, Tamika Harrison, who has worked 13 years at the plant, said the strike was important. "We've got to fight for what's right," she said. "They want to cut everything."

Not everyone was convinced. The quick nature of the strike, the shortest in UAW recent history, helped fuel conspiracy theories.

"I think it was purely, purely show," said Dave Rodriguez, 42, a worker at the Chrysler minivan plant in the St. Louis area. Even before the deal was announced, he suspected the union was striking to make the rank and file more willing to take a deal.

But others supported Mr. Gettelfinger's decision to strike.

"I think we did the right thing," said Kevin Kline, 48, of Troy, Mich.. "We sent a message that we'll stick together as a union."

UAW Vice President General Holiefield said in a statement that the deal provides job protection and protects wages, pensions and health care for active and retired members. During the talks with GM, Mr. Gettelfinger indicated a major issue for the union was job security, which led to the apparent promise by GM of specific product opportunities at 16 of 17 UAW facilities.

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