BonzoHansen
10-10-2007, 10:36 AM
UPDATE: Chrysler Workers Walk Out On The Job
10/10 11:54 am (ON)
Story 0455 (F, GM)
By Shawn Langlois
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Chrysler LLC workers began to step away from the assembly lines Wednesday after the automaker reportedly failed to reach an accord with the United Auto Workers ahead of the strike deadline.
The two sides, after a long night of bargaining, will continue their discussions as the rank-and-file walk away from their posts. The talks will continue to focus on some key sticking points, such as the automaker's demand to sell or outsource its parts depot and transportation operations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Calls to Chrysler and the union were not immediately returned.
The work stoppage marks the first time in more than 20 years that two of the three U.S. automakers were hit with strikes during contract negotiations. In 1976, Ford Motor Co. (F) endured a 28 -day nationwide strike and General Motors Corp. (GM) workers walked out of certain factories for just half a day.
Chrysler has never been hit with a nationwide strike.
Blue-collar workers shut down GM factories last month for two days before the two sides agreed to a deal that would typically serve as a blueprint for talks with other automakers. But so far, the Chrysler talks -- with new private equity owners led by Cerberus Capital at the wheel -- haven't yielded a contract agreement.
As with GM, retiree health-care costs are an issue with Chrysler, although the savings from a union-administered trust like GM's wouldn't have nearly the impact. Chrysler covers only 111,000 retirees as of last year; GM's tally is about four times that.
Chrysler, in the early stages of its turnaround, is also trying to catch up on the concessions made for GM and Ford back in 2005, when Chrysler was deemed to be in better financial shape and not in need of such deep retiree-liabilities cuts.
Cerberus is looking inside Chrysler for additional cuts as well. The automaker now plans to reduce its salaried and contract staff by more than 3,500 people, instead of the current planned cut of 2,000. A Chrysler spokesman declined to confirm the new plan.
The impact of the strike will likely be minimal if it lasts only a few days as Chrysler has already put five factories on scheduled down time this week.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10/10 11:54 am (ON)
Story 0455 (F, GM)
By Shawn Langlois
SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- Chrysler LLC workers began to step away from the assembly lines Wednesday after the automaker reportedly failed to reach an accord with the United Auto Workers ahead of the strike deadline.
The two sides, after a long night of bargaining, will continue their discussions as the rank-and-file walk away from their posts. The talks will continue to focus on some key sticking points, such as the automaker's demand to sell or outsource its parts depot and transportation operations, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Calls to Chrysler and the union were not immediately returned.
The work stoppage marks the first time in more than 20 years that two of the three U.S. automakers were hit with strikes during contract negotiations. In 1976, Ford Motor Co. (F) endured a 28 -day nationwide strike and General Motors Corp. (GM) workers walked out of certain factories for just half a day.
Chrysler has never been hit with a nationwide strike.
Blue-collar workers shut down GM factories last month for two days before the two sides agreed to a deal that would typically serve as a blueprint for talks with other automakers. But so far, the Chrysler talks -- with new private equity owners led by Cerberus Capital at the wheel -- haven't yielded a contract agreement.
As with GM, retiree health-care costs are an issue with Chrysler, although the savings from a union-administered trust like GM's wouldn't have nearly the impact. Chrysler covers only 111,000 retirees as of last year; GM's tally is about four times that.
Chrysler, in the early stages of its turnaround, is also trying to catch up on the concessions made for GM and Ford back in 2005, when Chrysler was deemed to be in better financial shape and not in need of such deep retiree-liabilities cuts.
Cerberus is looking inside Chrysler for additional cuts as well. The automaker now plans to reduce its salaried and contract staff by more than 3,500 people, instead of the current planned cut of 2,000. A Chrysler spokesman declined to confirm the new plan.
The impact of the strike will likely be minimal if it lasts only a few days as Chrysler has already put five factories on scheduled down time this week.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires