UAW sets 2-day voting period for new FCA contract

The UAW has decided to condense the voting process on its new agreement with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to just two days as it tries to avoid some of the problems that led to the rejection of its first agreement with the automaker earlier this month.

The UAW's nearly 40,000 members employed by the automaker are scheduled to vote on the new tentative agreementOct. 20 and Oct. 21, the union said Monday. A majority of the workers represented by the union must vote in favor of the agreement for it to be ratified.

The voting schedule contrasts with a two-week voting process in September on an earlier agreement that saw voting results from many UAW locals leak out before all workers had voted. As those results became public it became clear workers were voting against the agreement and workers who voted last appeared to matter less than those who went first.

That agreement was rejected by 65% of Fiat Chrysler workers who voted after a nearly two-week process that ended Sept. 30.

While Fiat Chrysler workers vote, workers at Ford and General Motors continue to wait anxiously for information about their next contract. When the UAW selected Fiat Chrysler as its lead target in September it put talks with the other two automakers on hold.

Historically, the UAW uses the first agreement it reaches with one of the Detroit Three as a pattern for the other two.

But on Monday, UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles again told Ford workers not to pay much attention to the Fiat Chrysler agreement.

"I understand that this process has taken longer than expected," Settles said in a UAW-Ford Department negotiations update.

Settles' statement on Monday is the second in recent weeks that suggests Ford workers will get a better deal than Fiat Chrysler workers.

"It is imperative that you keep in mind that the FCA agreement is only a pattern and the tentative agreement reached with Ford will be UAW-Ford specific, aimed at addressing concerns with the current agreement and securing gains for our membership," Settles said in the update.

The UAW reached its second agreement with the Auburn Hills automaker at nearly midnight last Wednesday, narrowly averting a potential strike.

Now, the UAW is holding meetings at local UAW units to explain the new contract before workers vote.

"We are making regular updates on our website and Facebook page, and local leaders across the country are beginning to hold informational sessions in plants so that members can fully understand what is – and isn't – in the new tentative agreement," UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg said in a statement Monday.

For example, three meetings will be held on Tuesday at UAW Local 1268, which represents workers at the automaker's assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., to explain the contract.

On Friday, UAW President Dennis Williams said he wanted to provide the UAW and its members more time to evaluate the new agreement before they vote.

“They’re going to go at it in a thoughtful matter, where everybody gets a chance to view this agreement and everybody gets their questions answered,” Williams said.

The UAW also has adopted a much more aggressive social media strategy aimed at engaging directly with its members on Facebook to explain the agreement. That strategy also contrasts with the union's restrained approach after the first agreement was reached.

UAW steps up social media to avoid another failed vote

Under the new agreement entry level workers will see their hourly pay increase from $15.78 to $19.28 per hour to $29 over a period of eight years. The contract that workers rejected a week ago would have only taken workers to a top wage of $25.35 per hour and was seen as falling short of promises made in 2011.

If ratified, the new agreement also provides entry level workers with a $3,000 signing bonus and longtime workers with a $4,000 signing bonus. Workers hired before 2007 still get 3% pay increases in the first and third years of the contract and 4% lump sum payments in the second and fourth years.

The two sides also have agreed to meet within 60 days to revisit complaints about alternative work schedules that are hard on workers.

Importantly, a summary of the new contract provides more detail, plant by plant, on jobs and future product changes as part of FCA's plans to invest $5.3 billion in its U.S. plants over the next four years. Williams said the overview of the product plan should help ease concerns workers have about the future of their plant and job security.

One potential sticking point is that it will take eight years for some entry level workers to reach $29 per hour and the contract only lasts four years.

Some workers are skeptical that the the company will honor the agreement four years from now when it is renegotiated and others argue that they should be able to reach that top wage faster.

Key provisions of UAW tentative agreement with Fiat Chrysler:

• All current entry level workers will be paid traditional wages within eight years. Entry-level workers with four years of service will be paid traditional base wages by the end of this contract – that’s more than $10 per hour in wage increases.
• Entry level workers with two years of service will receive more than $8 per hour in base wage increases by the end of the contract.
• First general wage Increases in nine years for long-term employees. With two 3% wage increases and two 4% lump-sum bonuses, traditional workers will be taking home an additional $20,000 over the next four years.
• Health care is unchanged with no premiums.
• Profit sharing payout is now based on hours worked, similar to how it is tabulated at Ford. Under the new formula, the pool will be funded based on the new formula of $800 for every 1% in North American profit margin.
• Upon signing new UAW contract, long-time workers get $4,000 bonus; entry level get $3,000 payment from Fiat Chrysler.
• 401(k) contribution rate goes up to 6.4% for entry-level workers.
• $1.7 billion in pension funding with the company expected to contribute $1.7 billion in cash.
• $5.3 billion to be invested in U.S. plants and a moratorium on outsourcing as the company provides a commitment to fully utilize and invest in its plants and provide job security and growth.
• Increased Dental and Vision Benefits for entry-level workers who are now eligible for annual routine oral exams and cleanings after one year, and vision exams every 24 months after attaining seniority.

Key job gains and losses under the UAW Fiat Chrysler tentative agreement

Plants that gain jobs

• 585 jobs added at Belvidere Assembly Plant in 2016
• 1,751 at Sterling Heights Assembly in 2018
• 220 at Indiana Transmission Plant I
• 403 at Tipton Transmission Plant

Plants that lose jobs

• 2,406 at Warren Truck Assembly in 2017
• 450 at Indiana Transmission

All other plants retain their current job levels.

Contact Brent Snavely: 313-222-6512 or bsnavely@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrentSnavely.