Chrysler Group's Kenosha Engine Plant Leadership Earns Melvin Lurie Labor-Management Cooperation Award

* University of Wisconsin award recognizes partnership between labor and management * Award named after the late Melvin Lurie, U.W. Economics Professor

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 27 -- The leadership of Chrysler Group's Kenosha (Wis.) Engine Plant (KEP) has been awarded the Melvin Lurie Labor-Management Cooperation Prize for outstanding cooperation between company management and the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 72.

The award was created in 1998 to honor the memory of Melvin Lurie, a professor of economics at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. The prize is intended to continue and enhance Professor Lurie's legacy of promoting cooperation between labor and management.

UAW Local 72 is headed by President Dan Kirk along with Shop Committee Chairman Curt Wilson. The management is headed by Plant Manager Joe Per.

"We have worked hard to represent our employees in a productive relationship with Joe and the Management at KEP," said Kirk. "We are honored to see our work recognized by such a well-respected group."

"The modern automobile industry is seeing intense competition from around the world. By working together, the management and employees of Kenosha Engine Plant are taking on that global challenge to efficiently produce high- quality engines for our Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge vehicles," added Per. "I'd like to thank all the employees at the plant for their hard work and the University of Wisconsin for recognizing our effort."

The team at KEP has been on the leading edge of the Chrysler Group's efforts to improve the manufacturing process, including the implementation of "Smart" manufacturing processes, which includes small groups of production line operators working together in teams.

"The leadership in Kenosha has done a great job and has shown they deserve this special recognition," said Richard Chow-Wah, Vice President of Powertrain Manufacturing and Core Team Leader for the Chrysler Group. "Given the conditions in the current marketplace, we will ask them to keep up the good work as we implement new workplace strategies to further improve quality and productivity."

The Melvin Lurie prize recognizes individuals for "outstanding service in the cause of promoting, creating or researching labor-management cooperation." The award includes a prize of $500 from the Melvin Lurie Memorial Fund, which will be designated to a local charity.

There are a number of company-wide processes that foster good relations between management and labor. For example, the Local Employee Participation Council (LEPC) made up of union and management members, meet regularly to discuss operations within the plant. And the Product Quality Improvement (PQI) initiative is a partnership that helps to improve the quality of work done within the plant.

The Kenosha Engine Plant also received the Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Safety for 2004 from the Wisconsin Council of Safety and the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. The award honors leaders in Wisconsin's business community for achieving exemplary safety records, innovation in injury/illness prevention and excellence in health and safety management.

The 1.9 million-square-foot Kenosha Engine Plant was acquired by the Chrysler Group in 1987 and employs approximately 1,300 workers. The plant logged 25,457 employee training hours in 2004. The plant produces a 3.5-liter V-6 engine for use in the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler 300, Dodge Magnum and Dodge Charger; and a 4.0-liter I-6 engine used in the Jeep(R) Wrangler; as well as 2.7-liter V-6 engine also used in the Chrysler 300, Chrysler Sebring, Dodge Magnum, Dodge Stratus and Dodge Charger.

Employees in the plant are also represented by International Association of Machinists (I.A.M.) Lodge 34

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