US Auto Sales Jump Last Month at Ford, Nissan, Fiat Chrysler

The vote sets the stage for at least localized strikes against the automaker.

Fiat Chrysler said it was disappointed by the tentative pact’s rejection.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. Typically, the union’s strike preparations include selecting strike captains, assigning workers to picket line shifts and mapping out plant entrances. Local UAW members at the General Motors Fairfax plant also are in contract discussions. I think the leadership knows that but they’re stuck.

The union had given Ford notice that a walkout limited to the Claycomo plant could have begun at noon Sunday unless an agreement was reached.

Late Wednesday, members at the last plant to vote in Belvidere, Illinois, turned down the contract.

GM, the largest U.S. automaker, scored sales of 251,310, about 12,000 above the forecast from Edmunds.com. Union workers at all three companies have stayed on the job under contract extensions since September 14. The new workers – anyone that’s been hired since 2007 – are paid at a lower hourly wage. Lower US gasoline prices are also driving demand higher for light trucks.

“The tentative agreement was created to yield a strong and competitive FCA United States, thus providing stability for our workforce and opportunity for future growth and investment in an increasingly complex global marketplace”, automaker said.

About 45 percent of Fiat Chrysler workers earn lower wages, and thats a key reason why the company has been able to hire thousands of employees since it emerged from a federally directed bankruptcy in 2009.

That may not be all bad news: Early this year, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne hinted strongly that the company would cut back pickup incentives in an effort to improve margins.

“What I love about our organisation most of all is that no matter what we do, what action we take, the ultimate decision and the power of the union is our members and they make the final decision”, he said.

A UAW spokesman said the union wouldn’t disclose the vote count until after an assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill. completes voting this evening.

Unfortunately, that feeling was not shared by UAW members.

Underreporting of injuries and deaths by Fiat Chrysler means a lot more work for their safety mechanism engineers. “It is their choice how they resolve” the contract with Fiat Chrysler, she added. It has been decades since a proposed agreement was rejected by the UAW in this manner.

A strike could come about in more than one way. In 1952 there were 470 major strikes.

Union officers were meeting Thursday to decide what to do next. “Ideally you want to mix your product”, he said.

The auto industry reported one of the best sales months in 10 years in September, but it was a different story for Volkswagen of America.

Ahead of the vote, workers had expressed concerns about the continuance of a two-tier pay structure, healthcare benefits and the possibility that a few vehicle production would be shifted to Mexico.

“We are working hard to avoid a disruption”, LaNeve said.

Butthe UAWs Williams now needs to show his workers that he has heard them, and that the UAWs loyalties remain with the rank-and-file, not with managers on the other side of the table.

A spokeswoman for Ford said in a written statement that operations at the Claycomo plant would continue as scheduled. Under UAW rules, Ford can call for the overtime because the F-150 is in the midst of a model year changeover from 2015 to 2016.