UAW, Fiat-Chrysler still at the bargaining table after all night marathon

“At this time, the UAW has selected FCA to be the leading bargaining company”.

Union officials still must be briefed on the four-year package, then the full membership will vote on it.

“By going to Fiat first, they can add contract sweeteners to GM and Ford, who can easily afford more than Fiat Chrysler can”. But the two sides agreed to a series of hourly extensions. But he wouldn’t give further details.

“All three companies are working hard toward a collective bargaining agreement”, Williams said.

The decision of choosing Fiat Chrysler’s FCA USA unit as the target company for shaping the new contract was disclosed by the union on Sunday.

The deal with FCA came after two days of talks that included an all-night session from Monday to Tuesday.

For the United Auto Workers union, Fiat was the logical lead choice since the company is now facing a lawsuit and a possible strike that makes it strongly interested in ending a two-tier wage structure imposed after the auto industry collapsed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.

The main issue in the talks was pay raises.

FCA Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has said he wants to eliminate the two-tier wage system, but he has suggested base wages be set lower than the current top tier. Ford’s net income fell 56 percent past year , to $3.19 billion, while GM’s earnings slid 26 percent, to $3.95billion and Fiat Chrysler’s declined 37 percent, to $568m illion.

The UAW began formal contract negotiations with all three companies in July. Profit sharing, benefits, wages and bonuses are amongst the most heated topics, including health care costs.

Both sides in the FCA-UAW contract talks have said they’re committed to reaching a new agreement.

The UAW represents about 35,700 workers at FCA U.S. and a total of about 141,000 workers at the three automakers.

Till the time a new deal is reached, the GM workers will carry on working under the 2011 agreement terms. Fiat Chrysler is the only one of the Detroit Three whose U.S. labor costs are lower than foreign competitors like Toyota, according to the Center for Automotive Research.

However, he did say it’s likely that the company’s plans for the Jeep Wrangler, Jeep Cherokee, and Toledo Assembly Complex are looming large. This may have legs because starting in 2018 workers with high-cost plans will have to pay federal taxes on the benefit.

Marchionne and Williams apparently have a close personal relationship, which led them to embrace each other at the opening of talks.

The labor contracts for 140,000 autoworkers expires at midnight, and negotiators for the United Auto Workers and Fiat Chrysler are back at the negotiating table on Monday.