Oct 7, 2007 11:08 pm US/Eastern
UAW, Chrysler Making Progress In Labor Talks
DETROIT (AP) ―
Negotiators with the United Auto Workers union and Chrysler LLC have made progress on efforts to reach a new four-year contract agreement, but the union has notified the company that a strike is possible, a person briefed on the talks said Sunday.
The union gave Chrysler a 72-hour notice of a potential strike, the person said, but it was unclear Sunday exactly whether the notice would end on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Bargainers working in committees made progress during the weekend but still have much work to do on difficult issues, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are private.
A strike notice could be a union tactic to put pressure on the company as the talks intensify, said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who specializes in labor issues.
"The union wants the deadline to encourage a settlement sooner rather than later," Shaiken said.
The UAW went on strike for nearly two days last month before coming to a tentative agreement with General Motors Corp. Normally the union settles with one U.S. automaker and then uses that deal as a pattern for the other two. But this year, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. both have said they have needs different from GM's and may need a different deal.
Shaiken said the notice doesn't necessarily mean there will be a strike because the union could extend its contract hour by hour when the deadline passes. A second strike in one set of negotiations would be rare, he said.
"I think the union may feel things are going well, but they want the discipline of a deadline," Shaiken said.
A short strike may not hurt Chrysler much because it has five U.S. plants scheduled to be shut down for a week or two starting Monday because of lower market demand for their products.
Negotiators bargained Saturday and returned to the table Sunday, Chrysler spokeswoman Michele Tinson said, adding that the two sides were making progress.
"We remain optimistic," she said Sunday afternoon.
UAW spokesman Roger Kerson declined to comment on the talks.
GM workers are now voting on the tentative agreement reached with the company, with totals expected to be done on Wednesday.
The union has not formally picked the second company it will negotiate with, but talks with Chrysler have intensified in recent days.
The UAW's contracts with Chrysler, Ford and GM were originally set to expire Sept. 14. The UAW selected GM as the lead company and strike target and reached a tentative agreement Sept. 26.
The UAW represents about 49,000 hourly workers at Chrysler, making it the smallest of the domestic automakers. The company also has about 78,000 retirees and surviving spouses represented by the UAW.
Chrysler recently became a private company, which could be a factor in the talks. Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP bought a majority share of Chrysler in August from DaimlerChrysler AG. As a private company, Chrysler no longer has shares and isn't required to file earnings reports.
Chrysler pays its workers an average of $75.86 per hour in wages, pension and health care costs, the highest among the Detroit automakers.
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