Ripple Effect of Chrysler Sale In Louisville
Just last week UAW workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant approved concessions to Ford. If Chrysler cuts even more jobs and wages, that could put the UAW in an even weaker position as negotiates the next national contract.
?We got enough to worry about. We just got to worry about Ford right now,? says Ford worker Bill Mullens. ?We can't worry about Chrysler.?
But Ford workers operate under the same national UAW contract as Chrysler and GM workers. With that national contract about to expire, tough negotiations from Chrysler?s new owner could cost all autoworkers, including local Ford workers.
And that's not including what they've already given up in concessions at both of Louisville?s Ford plants.
?I think we're going to have to. That's all there is to it,? says Ford worker Pat Stephens.
?I think we're getting sold out any doggone way. Taking that COA, collective operating agreement, you lose overtime, you lose... You just lose!? says Ford worker Mike Jones.
As automakers cut costs, autoworkers -- especially new autoworkers -- will pay the price.
?The union is agreeing to what they call two-tier wages,? says John McElroy of Autoline Detroit. ?So, when somebody hires in new, they come in at a substantially lower wage rate. And, it takes them a number of years to build up to where everybody else is.?
And McElroy tells me by phone that the biggest issue is a pension system and health care costs that are growing at a double-digit rate.
?I don't think any car company can afford that. And that is definitely going to be pressure that is going to be put on the Ford worker,? he says.
Ford workers who have given till it hurts.
?What else are we going to give up?? asks Jones. ?Living??
Formal negotiations on a new national contract are set to begin in July. The contract expires in September.
The UAW?s endorsement of the Chrysler deal is a big shift from earlier this year. Union President Ron Gettelfinger had warned that a private equity buyer would ?strip and flip? Chrysler, by selling it off in pieces.