The contract – which affects 40,000 employees – would eventually remove the controversial two-tier wage system
The United Auto Workers union and Fiat Chrysler have finally reached a tentative labor agreement, after negotiators worked through most of the night and into Tuesday afternoon.
The contract, which covers the company’s 40,000 unionized workers, will eventually remove a controversial two-tier wage system which sees new-hires paid $9 less than their more experienced co-workers.
Critics of the previous system argued it helped Chrysler prosper while dividing front-line workers.
Fiat Chrysler Chief Sergio Marchionne and UAW President Dennis Williams discussed the pact at a press conference in Detroit Tuesday evening, but declined to disclose specific wage details.
Williams has been under increasing pressure to secure pay rises for union members, many of whom haven’t received a pay rise in about a decade – despite soaring company profits.
The leaders did confirm, however, that the new agreement addresses rising health-care costs – something Marchionne had previously identified as a costly component in the compensation for hourly workers.
The deal, which ends the threat of a crippling strike, will likely serve as a pattern for similar pacts with General Motors and Ford.
