Chrysler, union reach tentative agreement

The Canadian Auto Workers union said it reached a tentative agreement with Chrysler Group Wednesday evening that matched the pattern established by its Detroit rivals last week.

Chrysler is the last of the Detroit Three to reach a settlement with the union, and the CAW’s leadership characterized the negotiations as the most difficult of the three with the automaker digging in its heels about raising its fixed costs.

Chrysler expressed concerns last week about the pattern established in the agreements reached with Ford and General Motors.

In particular, the smallest of the Detroit Three said it was troubled by a cost-of-living increase being reinstated in the last three months of the four-year deal.

It was also concerned about the timing and the size of $9,000 in lump-sum payments contained in the contract, the union said.

But the CAW said it managed to reach a deal with Chrysler that matched the pattern.

The talks between the parties picked up Tuesday evening after weeks of sluggish negotiations when the automaker tabled a proposal CAW president Ken Lewenza described earlier Wednesday as “pretty damn close” to the pattern.

That kicked off a marathon bargaining session that carried on until shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday morning and fell just short of a settlement.

The union said the talks only broke off because the CAW’s leadership, including Lewenza, had to prepare for the first of a two-day ratification vote on the GM deal.

Ford workers ratified their agreement over the weekend, while GM workers began voting on their deal Wednesday and will conclude the process Thursday.

Under the terms of the agreements reached with all three automakers, new hires will receive roughly $20 an hour in wages, down from $24 now, and it will take them 10 years to reach peak pay levels of $34 an hour compared with six years now.

The workers will also face a wage freeze throughout the four years, with cost-of-living increases suspended until June 2016.

In place of that, however, the contract contains a signing bonus of $3,000 in the first year, and $2,000 lump-sum payments in the subsequent three years.

Chrysler was trying to negotiate a break in when those payments would be made, which was a sticking point in the talks, but eventually agreed to the pattern, the union said.

New hires will also be moved into a new hybrid pension plan, which calls on workers to contribute more to the pension as they gain seniority, starting at $1 an hour before working up to $2 an hour by their eighth year and beyond.