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Autoblog Minute: No strike, FCA and UAW reach tentative agreement

A union strike is avoided as the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement with FCA. Autoblog's Adam Morath reports on this edition of Autoblog Minute. Show full video transcript text [00:00:00] A union strike is avoided as the United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement with FCA. I'm Adam Morath and this is your Autoblog Minute. The previous contract extension between the UAW and FCA expired at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, October the 7th. Had a new agreement not been reached, the UAW was set to strike at midnight. A zero hour tentative agreement was reached preventing a strike and now, [00:00:30] UAW leaders will convene for a vote on a new deal, Friday, October 9th. In a press release, the UAW said that terms of the new deal will be announced following the Friday vote. Check in with Autoblog as we continue to update reports as more details of the new labor deal come in. But in the meantime, work at FCA will go on. For Autoblog I'm Adam Morath. Autoblog Minute is a short-form video news series reporting on all things automotive. Each segment offers a quick and clear picture of what's happening in the automotive industry from the perspective of Autoblog's expert editorial staff, auto executives, and industry professionals. UAW/Unions Chrysler Fiat Autoblog Minute Videos Original Video FCA strike

Chrysler 100, midsize CUV and plug-in hybrid minivan launch bid to go mainstream

The news just keeps on rolling from Auburn Hills today, as Fiat Chrysler continues to detail its five-year growth plan. This time round, we're talking about Chrysler. The troubled American brand has been limited in the past few years to the lamentable Sebring/200, the Town & Country and the 300, although that's likely to change in the coming years.
"The Chrysler brand is not luxury - it's not premium. Chrysler is the mainstream American brand," brand CEO Al Gardner said during today's presentation.
Gardner set a sales target of 800,000 units by 2018, which marks an increase of 350,000 units compared to its 2013 sales results. That's a pretty big ask for a brand that's struggled to define itself over the past decade.

Here's what the UAW will be angling for in next year's contract negotiations

The United Auto Workers union is about to enter a new round of negotiations with the Detroit Three automakers, and this time, the focus is on the end of the two-tier wage system. Introduced in 2007, the two-tier wage system was enacted to allow General Motors, Ford and Chrysler to categorize its hourly employees under two categories: Tier 1 for veteran employees with full rights and benefits, and Tier 2 for short-term or entry-level employees compensated under a different schedule. The idea was that the system would permit the automakers to invest more in their plants and hire new employees as part of their respective recovery plans without being saddled with all the costs associated with hiring full-time employees. Now that the automakers are (more or less) back on their proverbial feet, however, the UAW wants to see an end to the two-tier system, and will likely make that a center-point of its negotiations next year to replace the current arrangement that is scheduled to end in September 2015. Not all members of the UAW will necessarily be interested in ending the two-tier system, however. According to The Detroit News, some Tier 1 workers may be more interested in negotiating a raise in their hourly rate – something which they haven't received in almost a decade. Tier 2 workers, meanwhile, may be more motivated to keep the tiered system in place, as their arrangement includes provisions for profit-sharing payments that have seen the automakers pay out billions to so-called short-term employees in lump-sum payments. Reconciling the two competing demands from two categories of union members and presenting a united front in negotiations may prove the biggest challenge for the UAW's new president, Dennis Williams. And with the right to strike – something which was suspended during the last round of negotiations in 2011 – the union has a bigger bargaining chip in its pocket.