Press Release
UAW Announces Ratification of New UAW-Chrysler Contract
10/16/96
Yokich, Laskowski Announce Ratification of New UAW-Chrysler Agreements DETROIT, Oct. 14 -- UAW President Stephen P. Yokich and Vice-President Jack Laskowski, director of the UAW-Chrysler Department, announced that UAW members at Chrysler voted by an overall margin of 73% to ratify new three-year agreements, covering hourly and salaried workers. "Our members had faith in their union negotiating team, and those negotiators repaid that faith by fashioning a set of contracts that meets the outstanding agreement set at Ford and also addresses other specific areas of concern to Chrysler workers," said Yokich and Laskowski. "We could not have done it without the solidarity of the entire UAW membership, the spirited support of the Chrysler membership, the dedication and skill of the National Chrysler Bargaining Committee, and the hard work of the UAW staff," the UAW leaders concluded. Highlights of the new three-year agreement include: expanded job security protections, which provide a guaranteed minimum employment floor of 95 percent of current covered jobs, incentives for insourcing work and creating new jobs, and disincentives on outsourcing. Wages and incomes are increased substantially through an up-front, lump-sum payment of $2,000, followed by three percent general base wage increases in the second year and third year of the agreement, cost-of-living allowance protection, and Christmas bonuses of up to $600 each. Substantial gains were made in basic pension plan benefits and 30-and-Out early retirement benefits for workers who retire during the new agreement. The union negotiated lump-sum payments for retired Chrysler workers, with an inflation protection feature, and will be payable in December 1997 and December 1998. For the first time, Chrysler will make tuition assistance payments of up to $1,000 per year for dependent children -- of active or retired workers -- enrolled in college and other approved post-secondary education and training. Tuition assistance of up to $1,000 per year was won for retirees who enroll in courses on-site at locations from which they retire. Among other gains, Veterans Day will be a paid holiday in the third year of the agreement, health care benefits are enhanced and group insurance benefits are improved. Skilled trades workers had their tool repair/replacement allowance doubled to $200, along with a 30 cent hourly tool allowance beginning in the second year of the contract. Further, Chrysler agreed to indenture at least 1,100 new apprentices. Similar improvements and gains were made for the UAW-represented Salaried workforce. Among the job gains was a commitment to add 56 new engineering jobs at various plants and to add the approximately 550 contract and non-represented Jeep and Truck Engineering workers to the bargaining unit, when the unit is transferred to the Chrysler Tech Center. The new set of contracts covers approximately 66,000 UAW-represented hourly workers and 6,000 UAW-represented salaried workers at Chrysler in the U.S. COMPLETED VOTE TOTALS Hourly Workers Totals Salaried Workers Totals -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Production & Maintenance: 73% Office & Clerical, Nurses: 93% Skilled Trades: 65% Engineering 81% Parts: 86%