UAW chooses FCA as lead bargaining company

Mon, Sep 14 2015

The United Auto Workers has chosen Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as its lead bargaining company as it seeks to finalize new contracts with the 140,000 or so workers represented by the union. That doesn't mean the UAW won't continue to talk with Ford and General Motors. "All three companies have been working with UAW bargaining teams toward a collective bargaining agreement and continue to do so," UAW President Dennis Williams said in a statement. It does mean, however, that any deal the UAW strikes with FCA will form the basis of bargaining talks with the other two American automakers.

Contracts between the UAW and the Detroit Three automakers are set to expire tonight at midnight. If no deal is made, both parties may vote to extend the previous contract. Industry analysts polled by The Detroit News suggest that a deal with FCA might be the most difficult to reach, since it is the smallest and least profitable of the three US car companies, and because of its high percentage of second-tier workers.

There's a super short statement on the matter from the UAW, and there's an equally concise confirmation from FCA. Feel free to read them below.

Detroit – The UAW this afternoon announced that FCA US LLC will be the lead target in Big Three auto talks.

"All three companies are working hard toward a collective bargaining agreement. At this time, the UAW has selected FCA US LLC to be the lead bargaining company," said Dennis Williams, President of the UAW. "All three companies have been working with UAW bargaining teams toward a collective bargaining agreement and continue to do so."

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Statement regarding the Status of Contract Talks between FCA US LLC and the UAW

FCA US LLC confirms that it has been selected as the company to set pattern on a collective bargaining agreement with the UAW. As negotiations are ongoing, the Company can offer no further comment at this time.

By Jeremy Korzeniewski