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Proposed deal averts strike between FCA and UAW

With the deadline rapidly approaching for a strike, FCA US and the United Auto Workers were able to hammer out a potential agreement late last night to avoid picket lines, at least for now. While the UAW said in a statement that it "secured significant gains," the actual contents of the deal haven't been published yet. Before going public, the offer still needs the consent of the UAW National Chrysler Committee, and that body has a meeting on 11:00 AM Eastern on Friday, October 9, to make a decision. If the Chrysler committee signs off on the deal, it would then go to the union's 40,000 FCA US workers for a vote, according to The Detroit News. "We have made real gains and I look forward to a full discussion of the terms with our membership," President Dennis Williams said in the UAW's statement. FCA US isn't providing any answers about the proposed contract either. In a release about the negotiations, the automaker said: "FCA US confirms that it has reached a new tentative agreement with the UAW. Because the agreement is subject to UAW member ratification, the Company cannot discuss the specifics of the agreement pending a vote by UAW members." The original tentative contract with FCA US promised raises and the creation of a healthcare co-op. However, 65 percent of union members rejected the deal, The Detroit News reports. Workers didn't like that the offer kept a two-tier wage system between veterans and more recent employees. The details of the health plan also weren't explained well, and there wasn't much info on possible production changes. UAW-FCA NATIONAL BARGAINING COMMITTEE VOTES ON PROPOSED TENTATIVE AGREEMENT Featured / News / October 8, 2015 UAW National Chrysler Council Leaders to Convene for Vote on Friday, Oct. 9 — Terms to be announced following Friday vote Detroit, Mich. – After a lengthy bargaining process, the UAW FCA National Bargaining Committee has secured significant gains in a proposed Tentative Agreement with FCA US announced today. The bargaining committee unanimously voted to send the proposed Tentative Agreement to local union leaders who make up the union's UAW National Chrysler Council. The UAW Chrysler Council will meet in Detroit at 11 am on Friday to discuss and vote on the agreement. "We heard from our members, and went back to FCA to strengthen their contract," said UAW President Dennis Williams.

2015 Chrysler 200 nets 10,000 orders in first day

Chrysler is having a "crazy impressive" launch for its 2015 200, claims company spokesperson Rick Deneau. Within the first two days of opening the order books, the Pentastar took over 17,000 requests for its swoopy new family sedan - 10,000 of them in the first day. The company says that's enough to keep its Sterling Heights, MI, factory running at full capacity through mid-July.
Deneau tells Autoblog that the last time he saw such an immediate popularity for a model was when Ram launched its 1500 EcoDiesel pickup. That truck sold out of its initial order allocation in just three days earlier this year. As you'd expect, "most of these are dealer orders," Deneau admits. In other words, they're not necessarily coming at the behest of individual customer, but that's standard operating procedure as dealers look to fill up their showrooms.
For the moment, it's too early to know which trim or engine will prove most popular in the new 200. At present, most of the ordered models are highly optioned. That's normal for a new vehicle launch, as early adopters tend to want all the bells and whistles and dealers want to show off their new stock by putting their best foot forward.

Chrysler Recalls Jeep SUVs For Ignition Switches

The ignition switch defects that engulfed General Motors are now a rapidly growing problem at Chrysler. Chrysler said Tuesday it is recalling up to 792,300 older Jeep SUVs worldwide because the ignition switches could fall out of the "run" position, shutting off the engine and disabling air bags as well as power-assisted steering and braking. That's the same problem that has forced GM to recall more than 15 million cars over the last six months. Chrysler's recall covers 2005-2007 Grand Cherokees and 2006-2007 Commanders. The company said it is not sure exactly how many will be recalled, but said it will notify customers by mid-September. Chrysler said an outside force such as a driver's knee can knock switches out of the "run" position. Engineers are working on a fix. The Auburn Hills, Michigan-based automaker, now part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, said it knows of no related injuries and only one accident. But it said owners should keep clearance between their knees and keys until repairs are made. Chrysler has now recalled more than 1.7 million vehicles for ignition-switch problems. In June, the company added 696,000 minivans and SUVs to a 2011 recall to fix faulty ignition switches. Those recalls covered Dodge Journey SUVs and Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge Caravan and Volkswagen Routan minivans - which Chrysler made for the German automaker - from the 2007 to 2010 model years. Tuesday's recall is the outgrowth of two investigations opened by U.S. safety regulators last month as part of a broader probe into ignition-switch and air-bag problems across the auto industry. The agency wouldn't say Tuesday whether its investigation could lead to recalls at other automakers. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in June that it was investigating Jeep Commanders and Grand Cherokees after getting 32 complaints that a driver's knee can hit the key fob or key chain, causing the ignition switch to move out of position. The federal investigation is still open. The agency said Tuesday that it is requesting additional information from Chrysler to ensure that its repairs will be effective. The investigations and recalls come after GM bungled an ignition-switch recall of older small cars. GM acknowledged that it knew of the ignition problem for more than a decade but failed to recall the cars until earlier this year, when it recalled 2.6 million small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt.