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UAW turns its focus to Fiat Chrysler, which may resist more than Ford did

DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union on Monday turned its bargaining focus to Fiat Chrysler, raising the possibility of another strike against a Detroit automaker. Ford workers ratified their contract Friday night, while the union settled with General Motors last month after a 40-day strike by 49,000 workers that shut down the companyÂ’s U.S. production. Ford, which has 55,000 UAW workers, mostly followed the pattern agreement set at GM. But industry analysts say the same deal will cost Fiat Chrysler a lot more money because of the makeup of its workforce. Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley said recently that automakers are in “different conditions” in terms of labor forces, hinting the company may be reluctant to follow the pattern. The union, however, expects FCA to follow the template set by GM and Ford. “We look forward to bargaining a fair, balanced and patterned contract as FCA is a profitable company,” the UAW said in a statement. “You cannot brag about your earnings to Wall Street and at the same time ignore the sacrifice of your workforce that put you in that profitable position.” The deal with Ford and GM gives workers hired after 2007 pay raises so they reach top UAW production wages within four years. It also gives temporary workers a path to full-time jobs within three years. Workers hired after 2007 now are paid lower wages than workers hired before that, even though theyÂ’re doing the same jobs. Workers hired before 2007 get a mix of annual pay raises and lump sum payments. Fiat Chrysler has more workers hired after 2007, and a higher percentage of temporary workers than either Ford or GM. That means the terms of the contract would cost the company more money, said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of labor and manufacturing with the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think tank in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “They are looking at significant cost increases,” Dziczek said of FCA. She says a strike against FCA isnÂ’t out of the question, and depends on how willing the company is to follow the pattern set by Ford and GM. FCA said in a statement it welcomes bargaining toward a deal to keep investing in the companyÂ’s future and creating opportunities for employees and communities. Ford has about 18,500 workers hired after 2007 who will get big pay raises with the new contract, compared with GM's 17,000. But Fiat Chrysler has over 20,000 union employees hired after 2007.

2017 Chrysler Pacifica videos detail features and hybrid tech

In a new video, Chrysler put a few designers and engineers in front of the camera to discuss the behind-the-scenes work on the 2017 Pacifica that was revealed at the Detroit Auto Show on Monday. They take a closer look at some of the details that went into the new minivan, like getting the occupants seated lower down in the vehicle, the fact that the hybrid Pacifica takes about two hours to fully recharge on a Level 2 charger, the eight-passenger seating, and the "Are We There Yet?" app for kids to let them know how much longer it is to grandma's house. Sure, dismissing the Town & Country name to reboot Pacifica has drawn plenty of attention. Nevertheless, based on the our first impressions of seeing it in person and crawling around it at the Detroit Auto Show, and the terrific notes struck by Chrysler's recent product, this has the potential to be a really good minivan. Chrysler also revealed its first marketing spot for the Pacifica. Having come out with a cool looking minivan, the brand guys decided to have fun with an anti-buzzword, anti-curated, anti-viral two-minute spot called Real Life that plays up the anti-cool you would normally associate with the family school bus. You can watch that in the video above, and check what the engineers and designers have to say in the videos below. The Town & Country is dead. Long live the Pacifica. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. News Source: Chrysler via YouTube [1], [2], [3], [4], Carscoops Design/Style Green Marketing/Advertising Chrysler Minivan/Van Hybrid Videos chrysler pacifica

All eyes on Detroit as automakers prepare for slow, careful reopening of plants

DETROIT — The U.S. factories that make Fords, Chevys and Jeeps are coming back to life this week as workers install new safety equipment and wake up machines ahead of the high-stakes restart the Detroit automakers plan to launch on Monday. Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles all plan to reopen North American factories on May 18. The reopening of the U.S. auto sector will be a closely watched test of whether workers across a range of industries can return to factories in large numbers without a resurgence of COVID-19 infections. How well the automakers do will be significant for the U.S. economy, as nearly 1 million workers are employed in the sector. Executives at Ford and GM said separately this week the companies have not recorded any cases of COVID-19 transmission in plants outside the United States since adopting new safety protocols. Those procedures include mandatory face masks, separation of workers on assembly lines, frequent cleaning of work areas and requirements that workers pass through temperature monitors and report any symptoms before entering a plant. The Detroit Three have taken unprecedented steps to share information about coronavirus safety practices and develop a common set of workplace standards for their restarts, working with the United Auto Workers union, executives said. "We thought it was critical that we did it together," Ford manufacturing and labor chief Gary Johnson told Reuters. "We've never done this as an industry." The Detroit automakers will restart U.S. plants without regular testing of workers, because they do not have access to sufficient testing capacity, executives and UAW officials said. They will test workers who report COVID-19 symptoms or have fevers discovered by temperature scanners installed at factory entrances. "We have to continue to push for this testing," United Auto Workers union Vice President Cindy Estrada told Reuters on Wednesday. "Unless we have testing weekly to keep sick people out of the plant there is always a risk." Adopting new safety practices is just part of the work the companies must do to reopen after an extraordinary shutdown that has lasted two months.   Wave zero At Ford, workers going in to ready factories are part of what Chief Operating Officer Jim Farley calls "wave zero." The work of wave zero employees "is really important for success of the startup," he said in an interview.