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"On Oct. 26, the United Auto Workers ratified a new, four-year labor contract with Chrysler, capping off the union's negotiations with Detroit's three big automakers. There were no huge surprises in the agreements, but in light of Detroit's long history of labor dysfunction, the new contracts are a thing of wonder. Here are the new rules of the road: The unions' fortunes are tied to the companies' fortunes. If the companies profit, the workers profit. If the companies stumble, they can break the promises they can't afford"
Still, the union didn't come away empty-handed. Its big prizes included pledges by the three automakers to create or retain a combined 20,000 jobs in the United States and to invest roughly $13 billion into upgrading and retooling their American manufacturing plants. In the process, companies agreed to bring work back to the states from Mexico and China. Hourly workers also won signing bonuses worth several thousand dollars and profit-sharing plans worth as much as $12,000 a head. The union did agree to keep in place a controversial two-tiered wage system, put in place in 2007, that pays new hires significantly less than older workers, but it also convinced the companies to increase their entry-level wage to nearly $20 an hour, up from around $15.
Still, the union didn't come away empty-handed. Its big prizes included pledges by the three automakers to create or retain a combined 20,000 jobs in the United States and to invest roughly $13 billion into upgrading and retooling their American manufacturing plants. In the process, companies agreed to bring work back to the states from Mexico and China. Hourly workers also won signing bonuses worth several thousand dollars and profit-sharing plans worth as much as $12,000 a head. The union did agree to keep in place a controversial two-tiered wage system, put in place in 2007, that pays new hires significantly less than older workers, but it also convinced the companies to increase their entry-level wage to nearly $20 an hour, up from around $15.
