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FCA workers get raises, health care co-op in new UAW deal

The pending labor agreement between FCA US and the United Auto Workers is now in the hands of union members to confirm. It's expected to be accepted, but a final decision could take weeks, The Detroit News reports. Employees didn't get everything they were hoping for, and contrary to earlier reports, the two-tier wage system remains in place. However, there are attempts to lessen the difference between the levels in this four-year deal. Assuming FCA US workers agree to this offer, the starting pay for tier-two workers would go up around a dollar to $17 an hour. The other level would now begin at $25.35, about a $6 increase, and they would receive 3 percent raises in the first and third year of the deal. Both groups also get $800 in profit sharing for each percent the automaker's profit margin rises above two percent. Extra money kicks in for the second tier above eight percent. Union members get a $3,000 bonus for accepting this contract, as well. The other major change under the pending agreement is the previously rumored switch to a healthcare co-op. The goal is to collect members from the Big Three together to create a huge member base for leverage to negotiate better rates with insurance companies. The UAW is promising no increase in cost to workers, according to The Detroit News. The idea was inspired by the similar structure for the Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association for union retirees. UAW boss Dennis Williams expects the agreement to be approved. "Once the membership looks at it, hears the explanation for it, I think they'll ratify it," he said, according to The Detroit News. The next step is to craft similar deals with General Motors and Ford. Related Video:

Ferrari to be spun off from Fiat Chrysler

The recently merged Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire has ambitious plans for growth, and it's going to need some big bucks in its coffers in order to enact them. Part of that cash injection is coming from the floating of its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange, but now FCA has announced a further capital campaign to be based on the enormous asset that is Ferrari.
FCA's board of directors has just approved the separation of Ferrari from the rest of the group as a separate entity. Once that separation is complete, Ferrari will put 10 percent of its shares on the stock market "in the United States and possibly a European exchange" as well.
This isn't the first time that the idea of a Ferrari IPO has been raised. Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of Chrysler, Fiat and Ferrari (pictured above), first raised the idea four years ago. Former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo nixed the idea, but now that he's been discharged, it appears there's nothing to get in the way of Marchionne's desires.

Fiat gives 2019 124 Spider the Urbana Edition treatment

Fiat is celebrating the arrival of spring and drop-top cruising season by offering the blacked-out Urbana Edition treatment on the 124 Spider for the 2019 model year. The move follows the Urbana Edition rebranding — it was formerly called Urbana Trekking — first shown earlier this year on the 500L. The package offers dark interior and exterior accents to the convertible roadster. It comes with Black Diamond 17-inch aluminum wheels fitted with performance tires, dual exhaust tips, black exterior accents and gloss-black finishes on the A-pillar bar bezel, seat-back pillar and side mirror caps. You also get front fog lamps. Inside, the package gets you matte gray accents, plus leather and microfiber on the seats and wrapping the instrument panel and instrument cluster hood. Fiat is offering the Urbana Edition package only on the Classica model of the 124 Spider for an extra $995, which brings the total cost to $27,680 including destination. It'll be on display next week at the New York International Auto Show. Fiat refreshed the 124 Spider for 2019 by adding features including a rear backup camera, a standard seven-inch Fiat Connect 7.0 touchscreen and offering custom center-stripe design options on the entry-level Classica. The 124 Spider is heavily based on the Mazda Miata and built in the same plant in Japan, but it uses its own 1.4-liter turbocharged inline-four engine. You can read Autoblog's drivers' notes on the roadster from 2017.