Jun 4, 2009 12:17 am US/Eastern
Protests Held To Support Tamiami Chrysler
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
Hours after a hearing on Chrysler's request to terminate the franchises of 789 dealers across the country was delayed by a day, a protest was held Wednesday night at Tamiami Chrysler- Jeep-Dodge. The protest included employees, their families, and supporters picketing in front of the dealership to keep the dealer open.
Three South Florida dealerships have been identified for termination including Tamiami Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge, Homestead's Spitzer Autoworld and Monarch Dodge in Lauderdale Lakes. All have filed court papers opposing Chrysler's move.
Tamiami Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge spokespeople claimed in a press release that Tamiami is the only Hispanic dealer in the area and ranked #70 in the nation among more than 3000 dealers.
Tamiami Chrysler's 100 employees were stunned to learn it was getting the axe. For decades, the family-owned dealership has set sales standards for South Florida car lots. The lot is within the top two percent of Chrysler dealerships nationwide, with a trophy case full of sales awards.
"I came here from Cuba in the '60s with nothing," general manager Alex Planas told
CBS4's Gary Nelson. "Now I understand what it's like, you know, when my parents would tell me stories of what it's like for someone to take away your business."
The fighting dealership took out a full page ad in Sunday's Miami Herald, appealing to customers to write Chrysler and protest the closure. Members of Congress have expressed their dismay, both Republicans and Democrats writing a letter to Chrysler's chairman.
News of the protest comes the same day as a federal appeals court halted Chrysler's sale of most of its assets to Italian-based automaker FIAT. Chrysler has indicated the FIAT deal is the only chance that Chrysler won't have to sell itself off piece by piece. FIAT can pull out of the deal after June 15 if it's not approved.
Several funds in the state of Indiana have challenged the constitutionality of the U.S. Treasury Department using Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds and claimed the deal unfairly favored the interests of the company's unsecured stakeholders ahead of secured debtholders.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald contributed material for this report)
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