It’s Like Déjà Vu All Over Again

12 October 2015 Dashboard Insights Blog

For the second time in just over three weeks, the UAW and Fiat Chrysler reached a tentative agreement on October 7, 2015, narrowly avoiding a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. unilaterally imposed by the UAW. This time, however, there was no joint press conference with UAW President Dennis Williams and Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne filled with smiles and congratulations. Instead, a simple announcement by the UAW on its Facebook page as well as a press release from Fiat Chrysler informed the public that a new tentative agreement had been reached.

One of the main concerns from the membership about the first tentative agreement was the apparent continuation of the two-tier wage structure. The UAW membership was clearly hoping for more cash (which is just as good as money). The new tentative agreement provides the ability for entry level employees to reach the Tier 1 wage rates within eight years. The membership was also concerned about a lack of details regarding potential changes to health care benefits — because when you don’t have it, that’s when you need it. The new tentative agreement maintains no cost share for members toward health care premiums.

Only time will tell if the “significant gains” made by the UAW bargaining team are acceptable to enough of the UAW membership to ratify the tentative agreement. The UAW leadership has already had one chance to achieve ratification. We will see if they have learned from their prior mistakes. One thing is for sure, we won’t know if the negotiations with Fiat Chrysler are over, until they’re over.

Stay tuned to Dashboard Insights for further developments regarding the status of the negotiations.

This blog is made available by Foley & Lardner LLP (“Foley” or “the Firm”) for informational purposes only. It is not meant to convey the Firm’s legal position on behalf of any client, nor is it intended to convey specific legal advice. Any opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of Foley & Lardner LLP, its partners, or its clients. Accordingly, do not act upon this information without seeking counsel from a licensed attorney. This blog is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. Communicating with Foley through this website by email, blog post, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship for any legal matter. Therefore, any communication or material you transmit to Foley through this blog, whether by email, blog post or any other manner, will not be treated as confidential or proprietary. The information on this blog is published “AS IS” and is not guaranteed to be complete, accurate, and or up-to-date. Foley makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation or content of the site. Foley expressly disclaims all other guarantees, warranties, conditions and representations of any kind, either express or implied, whether arising under any statute, law, commercial use or otherwise, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. In no event shall Foley or any of its partners, officers, employees, agents or affiliates be liable, directly or indirectly, under any theory of law (contract, tort, negligence or otherwise), to you or anyone else, for any claims, losses or damages, direct, indirect special, incidental, punitive or consequential, resulting from or occasioned by the creation, use of or reliance on this site (including information and other content) or any third party websites or the information, resources or material accessed through any such websites. In some jurisdictions, the contents of this blog may be considered Attorney Advertising. If applicable, please note that prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Photographs are for dramatization purposes only and may include models. Likenesses do not necessarily imply current client, partnership or employee status.