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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.

NHTSA looking into non-Takata airbag shrapnel case

The global airbag inflator recall from Takata has been one of the biggest topics in auto safety for months. Now, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is opening a preliminary evaluation into the components from Arc Automotive to investigate whether two reported ruptures and two injuries signal a wider problem. So far, only the 2002 Chrysler Town & Country and 2004 Kia Optima are believed to be affected. If a safety campaign is deemed necessary, it could cover an estimated 420,000 of the minivans and 70,000 of the Korean sedans. NHTSA first noticed these ruptures in December 2014. The agency received a complaint of a 2009 case in Ohio about the bursting of the driver's side inflator in a 2002 Town & Country. According to the report, the incident broke the woman's jaw and sent shrapnel into her chest. The government investigated the case, and this was found to be the only known occurrence in these vehicles. The analysis indicated the part's gases were possibly blocked somehow and caused the component to explode. FCA US spokesperson Eric Mayne told Autoblog that the company is "cooperating fully" with NHTSA. "Also, we no longer use that inflator," he said. A second incident came to NHTSA's attention in June 2015 with the driver's side rupture in a 2004 Optima in New Mexico. The agency lists fewer details about the case, and a root cause isn't known. This is also the only currently known example in a Kia vehicle. According to a statement from Kia to Autoblog, "We are taking this matter very seriously and support NHTSA's action and will continue working cooperatively with the agency and suppliers throughout the process." Arc's components are sealed within a steel housing that's meant to protect them from "external atmospheric conditions," according to NHTSA. Multiple suppliers also use them. In the Chrysler, the airbag module came from Key Safety Systems and from Delphi in the Kia. In a statement to Autoblog the company said, "We have received NHTSA's notification and are cooperating fully with its Preliminary Evaluation." At this time, NHTSA admits that it doesn't know for certain whether these two cases are linked. The agency is conducting this preliminary evaluation to learn more.

Chrysler 'at war' with world's largest Viper club?

The situation was bound to boil over at some point. Grumblings from former and current members of the Viper Club of America, and letters sent from Chrysler to VCA president Lee Stubberfield, allege that the non-profit club is being run illegally as a for-profit business, Jalopnik reports.
The trouble reportedly started in 2007, when VCA member and former club national president Chris Marshall is alleged to have taken a paid position at the club courtesy of the acting board members at the time. By 2010, with the demise of the Dodge Viper looming, the VCA reportedly made a deal with Chrysler to to acquire a stash of old parts and tooling for the Viper. The stash would then be sold by the newly formed Viper Parts of America, a company that was supposed to be run by Marshall, Jalopnik reports.
This sounds like shady business to us - at the very least a conflict of interest. And it's said that the VCA will not hesitate to suspend - for a year or more - the memberships of those who oppose it.