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The UAW's 'record contract' hinges on pensions, battery plants

DETROIT - After nearly four weeks of disruptive strikes and hard bargaining, the United Auto Workers and the Detroit Three automakers have edged closer to a deal that could offer record-setting wage gains for nearly 150,000 U.S. workers. General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler parent Stellantis have all agreed to raise base wages by between 20% and 23% over a four-year deal, according to union and company statements. Ford and Stellantis have agreed to reinstate cost-of-living adjustments, or COLA. The companies have offered to boost pay for temporary workers and give them a faster path to full-time, full-wage status. All three have proposed slashing the time it takes a new hire to get to the top UAW pay rate. The progress in contract talks follows the first-ever simultaneous strike by the UAW against Detroit's Big Three automakers. The union began the strike on Sept. 15 in hopes of forcing a better deal from each major automaker. But coming close to a deal is not the same thing as reaching a deal. Big obstacles remain on at least two major UAW demands: restoring the retirement security provided by pre-2007 defined benefit pension plans, and covering present and future joint- venture electric vehicle battery plants under the union's master contracts with the automakers. On retirement, none of the automakers has agreed to restore pre-2007 defined-benefit pension plans for workers hired after 2007. Doing so could force the automakers to again burden their balance sheets with multibillion-dollar liabilities. GM and the former Chrysler unloaded most of those liabilities in their 2009 bankruptcies. The union and automakers have explored an approach to providing more income security by offering annuities as an investment option in their company-sponsored 401(k) savings plans, people familiar with the discussions said. Stellantis referred to an annuity option as part of a more generous 401(k) proposal on Sept. 22. Annuities or similar instruments could give UAW retirees assurance of fixed, predictable payouts less dependent on stock market ups and downs, experts said. Recent changes in federal law have removed obstacles to including annuities as a feature of corporate 401(k) plans, said Olivia Mitchell, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School and an expert on pensions and retirement. "Retirees want a way to be assured they won't run out of money," Mitchell said.

Mopar stuffs the Jeep Performance Parts catalog with 200 accessories

We don't get to savor the all-new 2018 Jeep Wrangler until sometime in November. Today at SEMA, however, we get to sample some of the more than 200 Jeep Performance Parts that Mopar designed for America's off-road mascot. Among the totally new offerings are a roof rack and a stowable tailgate table. The roof rack can accommodate the standard carriers, such as those for skis, snowboards, and bicycles. The tailgate table flips down from the rear hatch, creating a workspace complete with a beverage holder. Urbanites can get down with the mesh and solid bikini tops, a cargo tray that extends to the back seat and doubles the surface area, logoed door sills, and new fuel doors. Redesigned tire covers flash new graphics and incorporate an aperture for the backup camera. When distant GPS points require low-range four-wheeling, redeveloped goodies include 17-inch beadlock aluminum wheels, a two-inch lift kit that permits 37-inch tires when paired with high-top fender flares, thicker, wider rock rails coated with Ram bedliner material, and hard-secured grab handles. Five-inch LEDs throwing 4,080 lumens and seven-inch LEDs throwing 8,000 lumens work with a new mount kit to attach to windshield, winch guard, or frame rails. An auxiliary switch bank with a dedicated power distribution center means convenient access to controls for auxiliaries like those lights and the Mopar Warn winch. A screen protector keeps dust and debris from damaging the Uconnect screen. When the inevitable boo-boo happens, grab for help from the improved emergency first-aid kit and roadside assistance kit. Mopar says the entire range of Jeep Performance Products will be available at dealerships as soon as the Wrangler goes on sale. Related Video: Featured Gallery Jeep Performance Parts: SEMA 2017 View 17 Photos Related Gallery 2018 Jeep Wrangler Mopar accessories View 14 Photos Image Credit: Live photos copyright 2017 Drew Phillips / Autoblog.com Auto News Aftermarket SEMA Show Jeep SUV Off-Road Vehicles SEMA 2017

2015 Easter Jeep Safari Concepts First Drive

Imagine if once a year your grandmother made a chocolate cake. Not a chocolate cake, that chocolate cake. Blow-your-mind chocolate cake. But she won't ever let you have any – you can only have the spatula and whatever's left over in the mixing bowl. And you don't care. You look forward to that spatula and bowl every year because – "Gadzooks!" – that is some stupendous cake. For us, that cake is the Easter Jeep Safari. An annual pilgrimage to Moab, Utah for a taste of what Fiat-Chrysler's off-road brand has cooked up in its Design Dome. "No, you can't have any," the company tells us, "but you can taste it here, then dream about it until next Easter." In Detroit, Jeep gave us a close look at the seven concepts it built for this year's 49th annual event. Then it went a step further and took those show cars to Mill Canyon, UT, to crawl the red rocks in Jeep's natural habitat. After all, the company calls Moab, "Our home away from home." And it's not true that we never get more than a taste of Jeep's conceptual goodness – 2011's JK8 pickup conversion kit is a slice of Safari creation we can now take home, for instance, as are the hood decals that adorned two of the concepts we drove this year. Pietro Gorlier, President and CEO of Mopar, told us that the evolution of Jeep Performance Parts came from listening to journalists and customers in his first year on the job in 2010. So there's that. But still, we want more cake. Like a full-on production Wrangler Africa. These being one-of-a-kind prototypes traipsing through a canyon of nearly immovable objects, we didn't go fast, we didn't go far, we didn't push hard. But we did drive all the Easter Jeeps, and even just this small taste was outstanding. View 30 Photos Jeep Chief While we listened attentively to the detailed spiels on all this conceptual candy, one question ran through our minds: "How am I going to get in the Chief before everyone else?" And we could see the same thought every colleague's face, those scheming bastards. And why not? The Ocean Blue tribute to the venerable Cherokee of old grabbed everyone's attention since the first teaser images weeks before the event, in part because the vintage truck is up there with mermaids for rarity and lustworthiness. Anything that goes this far in obeisance to that classic Jeep is always going to score huge marks. The Chief is a four-door Wrangler underneath, but in many ways it feels nothing like a Wrangler.