FCA announces the end of negotiations between Detroit's three giants and the trade union through the latest agreement

Posted 2023-11-10 00:00:00 +0000 UTC

The new round of negotiations between Detroit's three giants and UAW finally came to an end after 88 days. This year's negotiation process is far longer than the last round in 2015. Four years ago, the negotiations among the three giants ended before Thanksgiving. The UAW said on Wednesday that FCA workers voted in favor of a labor agreement for the next four years, ending the most controversial labor negotiations in Detroit for many years, and helping to avoid strikes at a key point in the merger of FCA and PSA. It is reported that about 47000 UAW hourly workers from FCA overwhelmingly passed the new agreement, with about 71% of workers voting for it. This also means that the new round of negotiations between Detroit's three giants and UAW finally came to an end after 88 days. This year's negotiation process is far longer than the last round in 2015. Four years ago, the negotiations among the three giants ended before Thanksgiving. Cindy Estrada, vice president of UAW, said in a statement that by the end of the four-year agreement, all full-time employees of FCA will have the highest level of benefits and salaries, and all temporary workers will have a clear way to get full-time jobs and higher pay water. Compared with similar agreements of GM and auto, FCA's approval rate of this round of agreements is significantly higher. Prior to that, about 54% of GM's employees passed the agreement, while Ford's voting support rate was about 56%. Even so, UAW's agreement negotiations with Detroit's three giants are full of gunpowder. At the beginning, they were dissatisfied with GM's plan to close four American assembly plants, so they chose GM as the key target and launched a nationwide strike 24 hours after the expiration of the previous four-year contract. The characteristics of GM's strike are not only that the talks with UAW are extremely fierce, but also that both sides publicly accuse each other of "playing games" and fail to respond to each other's reasonable proposals in time. In addition, this year's agreement negotiations have been accompanied by federal prosecutors pushing forward years of corruption investigations. During the negotiation, Gary Jones, former president of UAW, and Vance Pearson, former head of five regions, were charged with new charges and resigned in a short time. It is reported that the latest agreement of FCA increases the profit share by 13%, providing the same medical insurance for the inexperienced hourly workers as the old employees. Full time employees will also receive the same $9000 bonus as Ford employees, while temporary employees will receive $3500. In addition, the agreement also requires FCA to invest $9 billion in manufacturing projects in the United States by 2023, creating 7900 jobs. The figures include a $4.5 billion plan to open a second major assembly plant in Detroit and add 6500 new jobs. The planned investments include $7.8 billion in assembly plants, $615 million in power assembly plants and $495 million in stamping plants. Of these new commitments, $450 million will go to the Indiana second transmission plant to create up to 1040 jobs, and $160 million to the assembly plant north of Toledo to create up to 100 jobs for jeep herders. After the negotiation with FCA, UAW calculated that in the next four years, the company's workers will increase their wages by US $29500, equivalent to the economic benefits in the Ford contract agreement. In addition, like GM's and Ford's communication efforts, FCA employees will receive a 4% bonus in 2019 and 2021, and a 3% raise in 2020 and 2022. Colin lightbody, a former FCA negotiator and now head of a consulting firm, said FCA's contract would narrow the labor cost gap between the company and its domestic competitors. "I think they will try to make medical benefits more consistent with GM, Ford and other enterprises. In terms of profit sharing plan, FCA has also made some flexible adjustments to make it closer to GM and Ford's plan."

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