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The UAW's 'record contract' hinges on pensions, battery plants

DETROIT - After nearly four weeks of disruptive strikes and hard bargaining, the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers have edged closer to a deal that could offer record-setting wage gains for nearly 150,000 U.S. workers. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have all agreed to raise base wages by between 20% and 23% over a four-year deal, according to union and company statements. Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. The companies have offered to boost pay for temporary workers and give them a faster path to full-time, full-wage status. All three have proposed slashing the time it takes a new hire to get to the top UAW pay rate. The progress in contract talks follows the first-ever simultaneous strike by the UAW against Detroit's Big Three automakers. The union began the strike on Sept. 15 in hopes of forcing a better deal from each major automaker. But coming close to a deal is not the same thing as reaching a deal. Big obstacles remain on at least two major UAW demands: restoring the retirement security provided by pre-2007 defined benefit pension plans, and covering present and future joint- venture electric vehicle battery plants under the union's master contracts with the automakers. On retirement, none of the automakers has agreed to restore pre-2007 defined-benefit pension plans for workers hired after 2007. Doing so could force the automakers to again burden their balance sheets with multibillion-dollar liabilities. GM and the former Chrysler unloaded most of those liabilities in their 2009 bankruptcies. The union and automakers have explored an approach to providing more income security by offering annuities as an investment option in their company-sponsored 401(k) savings plans, people familiar with the discussions said. Stellantis referred to an annuity option as part of a more generous 401(k) proposal on Sept. 22. Annuities or similar instruments could give UAW retirees assurance of fixed, predictable payouts less dependent on stock market ups and downs, experts said. Recent changes in federal law have removed obstacles to including annuities as a feature of corporate 401(k) plans, said Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an expert on pensions and retirement. "Retirees want a way to be assured they won't run out of money," Mitchell said.

Chrysler CEO's brand vision: More products, tech, care and quality

The debut of the Chrysler Airflow battery-electric crossover at the Consumer Electronics Show was meant to be the harbinger of Chrysler's arrival as a 21st-century brand. After four months on the job as brand CEO, former Ford and Honeywell executive Christine Feuell opened up on her vision for the Pentastar in interviews with Automotive News and The Detroit News. When Stellantis asked each of its 14 brand chiefs for one word to describe their intentions, Feuell's word was "transformation," that overhaul seeing Chrysler become the mothership's "startup brand." The obvious sum of those two intentions is more technology, the good news about them is that there will be more product, the best news about them is that there will be more quality. The Airflow is said to arrive by 2025. Chrysler's two current products, the Pacifica/Voyager minivan and 300 sedan, will be replaced by new offerings that serve those same two segments but that are "a vast departure from what's in the market today." Beyond these three nameplates, visitors to Chrysler dealer lots will be able to choose from "a number of brand-new products that don't exist today." We'll guess there'll be one or two more crossovers in addition to whatever else comes, since that form factor hasn't begun to run out of steam. A couple more family conveyances after the Airflow would cement the Auburn Hills automaker as the people-hauler arm of Stellantis' U.S. quartet. We're told to expect something "in the largest segment," in TDN's words, but we're not certain if "largest" refers to the segment size or vehicle size.   Naturally, these transports will be electric, Chrysler aiming to be all-EV by 2028. Feuell said the Pacifica Hybrid has been able to poke its nose into a demographic of tech-friendly buyers, specifically, diverse millennial females with higher incomes. She wants to expand on that success, becoming an attractive option to families with a fair bit of disposable income — you know, Tesla buyers. Assuming she can translate her vision into good product, those shoppers will find in Chrysler "clean mobility, seamless technology," and unexpectedly rewarding ownership experiences.

Has Dodge stepped in it again with Scat Pack lawsuit?

Lawsuits are an unfortunate part of doing business in just about any industry, so the latest complaint filed by a California-based aftermarket firm against Chrysler would seem to be nothing more than business as usual. But this isn't the first time the two companies have sparred over this particular issue.
According to a report from Automotive News, the dispute revolves around the Scat Pack name that Chrysler first offered on the Charger, Coronet, Dart and Super Bee starting in 1968. Scat Enterprises, a manufacturer of crankshafts and other components for Dodges and other vehicles, sued Chrysler for using its name. A few years later the Scat Pack disappeared from the Dodge catalog.
Fast forward to August 2013 when Chrysler applied to register the Scat Pack name anew. The US Patent and Trademark Office turned down Chrysler's application, but the automaker proceeded anyway, unveiling new Scat Packs for the Challenger, Charger and Dart at last year's SEMA show.