OTTAWA: Nearly two thirds of United Auto Workers at Fiat Chrysler voted to reject a proposed contract agreement with the company.
Sixty-five per cent of the membership voted against the pact, the union said Thursday, sending UAW leaders scrambling for a Plan B. Union leaders from across the nation were meeting Thursday in a Detroit suburb to talk about their next move.
The rejection is a slap at President Dennis Williams who pitched the deal as a fair way to compensate workers yet keep the company competitive in a global auto market.
The rejection by such a wide margin leaves open the possibility of a strike, since members seem to be unified in their opposition, said Kristin Dziczek, director of the labour and manufacturing group at the Center for Automotive Research, an industry think-tank .
“A strike puts pressure on all the parties to come back to the (bargaining) table,” she said. “When you have this much anger and anxiety, I think a strike provides an outlet for some of that.”
The vote likely will send Williams back to Fiat Chrysler to seek more, but it’s unclear how temperamental CEO Sergio Marchionne will react, she said. Williams and Marchionne have a good relationship, but Dziczek is not sure how that will play into getting a better deal.
In a union statement, Williams said he doesn’t consider the vote a setback because it’s part of the contract process. “The ultimate decision and the power of the union is our members, and they make the final decision,” he said.
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