Detroit, Sept 15: The United Auto Workers union on Monday reached a tentative, four-year contract agreement with automaker DaimlerChrysler AG and will continue to negotiate with General Motors and Ford Motor after current contracts expired last night, UAW officials said. Details of the tentative agreement weren't being released.
The UAW had hoped to reach simultaneous pacts with the big three automakers, but General Motors and Ford Motor haven't reach an agreement yet.
The union typically chooses one carmaker as the lead negotiator and uses that pact as a model for the other two. The union bargained with all three automakers at once this year and did not publicly name a lead company, although one was chosen soon after Labour Day.
Representatives of the UAW and the big three, along with suppliers Delphi and Visteon, have met since mid-July. They negotiated on issues such as wages, jobs, health care and pensions that affect 300,000 workers and nearly a half-million retirees and their spouses.
Bureau Report