Auto Union Readies for Strike
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DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union and Chrysler were locked in negotiations early today as workers prepared for the picket lines.
The UAW set a deadline of 11 a.m. to reach a tentative agreement with Chrysler LLC or have thousands of workers walk off the job. The union represents about 49,000 workers at 24 American manufacturing facilities and other sites.
In a memo to local union leaders, the UAW said it would stop extending its contract with Chrysler by midnight Tuesday, but that deadline passed with no announcement. The contract was supposed to expire September 14 but has been extended since then.
“The company has thus far failed to make an offer that adequately addresses the needs of our membership,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and the UAW’s chief Chrysler negotiator, General Holiefield, said in the memo sent Monday.
A UAW spokesman, Roger Kerson, declined to comment early today. A Chrysler spokeswoman, Michele Tinson, said talks were continuing through the night.
Chrysler’s deadline comes as UAW members at General Motors Corp. wrap up voting on their own tentative contract. The UAW was expected to announce today whether a majority of GM’s union members approved the agreement, which was reached September 26 after a two-day strike. Contracts can’t go into effect until workers approve them.
