Workers reject Fiat Chrysler contract offer: union

Workers inside the plants are openly speculating about whether the company will crack down on various rules and regulations or whether their union will call a strike.

The sales volume was driven by low gas prices, high demand for light trucks, attractive deals as well as the easy availability of credit with lower interest rates.

Analysts said Labor Day weekend, and a calendar quirk, most likely helped cushion the blow for Volkswagen in September, since it is one of the biggest sales weekends of the year at dealerships.

Labour Day is typically one of the biggest sales weekends of the year as dealers hold model year-end clearance sales. Diesels accounted for just 11.7 percent of the company’s total sales, compared with the usual 20 percent. Sales volume of the Lincoln brand vehicles improved 19.6% year over year to 8,680 units in the month.

“The economy still has room to grow and so do auto sales, particularly now that the millennials are entering the workforce and starting households”. The UAW agreed to allow lower pay for entry-level workers in 2007 when Detroit automakers were struggling financially.

Fiat Chrysler said it was disappointed the deal was rejected in a statement, adding that the company believed that it had achieved a hard balance between rewarding workers and keeping the automaker competitive. It wouldn’t take long for a strike at their USA plants to crimp vehicle availability.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) workers are a step closer to going on strike after members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union turned down the automaker’s latest contract offer.

– There was a bright spot for Volkswagen.

Earlier Friday, Automotive News reported that Ford had scheduled mandatory overtime shifts for the next two weekends at its other F-150 plant, in Dearborn, Mich., and was diverting frames for the pickups away from the Kansas City plant to maximize output in Dearborn. Year to date, Chrysler 200 sales are up 96%, and sales of Chrysler-branded vehicles are up 12%. (Ford’ s got 76 days worth of F-150 inventory in its system, while it normally averages about two months worth.) But that doesn’t mean Ford can prolong its stalemate with the UAW indefinitely without effect.

– Ford sold 221,599 vehicles, with its F-Series pickup truck – the top-selling vehicle in the country – climbing 16 percent to more than 69,000 trucks.

“The SAAR will benefit from a healthy increase in promotional activity” throughout September, Johnson said.

Toyota notched sales of 194,399, up 16.2 percent.

-Go back to the bargaining table with fiat Chrysler to reshape the contract.

Fiat Chrysler’s (FCHA.MI) sales increased 14 percent to 193,019, boosted by the continued strength of its Jeep SUV brand.

– Honda sold 133,750 vehicles.

All of GM’s brands saw sales increases last month. In addition, September was the Cherokee’s best monthly sales ever as sales increased 38 percent and Wrangler posted its best September sales ever with a 26 percent increase.