DAIMLERCHRYSLER
Workers win on wages, but job cuts may continue
By
Martha Grevatt
Member, UAW Local 122
The writer works at the DaimlerChrysler stamping plant in
Twinsburg, Ohio.
Voting Sept. 24 and 25, UAW members who work at
DaimlerChrysler ratified a four-year contract. This agreement
sets the pattern that the union is also seeking for workers at
Ford and General Motors.
For the first time in 20 years, workers will receive a
3-percent wage increase in each year of the new contract. The
basic right to across-the-board wage increases had been given
up at the time of Chrysler's near-bankruptcy. So for two
decades workers have lost tens of thousands of dollars by
receiving lump sums instead of percentage raises.
There are other improvements in the new pact--in the Cost of
Living Allowance, bereavement pay, health coverage, and other
areas. Pension benefits were increased by a sizeable amount. In
2000 and 2002, Election Day will be a paid holiday.
The UAW also won a pledge of "neutrality" toward its drive
to organize workers in non-union plants in the South. The union
will have access to the workers in these plants. However, the
company would not agree to a card-check: recognizing the union
automatically if more than half the work force signs union
cards.
In a major victory for lesbian, gay and bisexual workers,
DaimlerChrysler has finally agreed to add the words "sexual
orientation" to the "Equal Application" section. In 1996, and
before that in 1993, the UAW asked for this addition but
Chrysler refused.
In 1996, Pride At Work and the Committee for Equal Rights at
Chrysler launched a national campaign that won changes in
corporate policy. Now non-discrimination based on sexual
orientation is written into the contract.
If it is also included in the Ford and GM pacts, it will
mark a giant step forward in the struggle for equal rights--the
first such industry-wide victory in the United States. The
union and DaimlerChrysler management have also agreed to
"assess the implications" of domestic-partner benefits.
What about jobs?
In the past two decades, the Big Three auto companies have
eliminated hundreds of thousands of UAW jobs. Yet they are not
satisfied with the current employment levels. They want to cut
more.
Ford wants to spin off its Visteon parts division. GM wants
to go to "modular" assembly: Whole sections of a vehicle will
be assembled on the outside, while the assembly plants merely
put the "modules" together.
DaimlerChrysler, the product of the November merger of
Chrysler and Daimler-Benz, most likely intends to cut "excess
capacity."
The new contract sets limits on how many jobs
DaimlerChrysler can eliminate. In the previous contract,
workers who retired, quit, died or were discharged were
replaced on a one-for-one basis after employment levels dropped
below 95 percent of what they were when the contract was
signed. The catch was that this only applied when the jobs were
lost due to outsourcing.
New technology has eliminated thousands of jobs. In the
Twinsburg, Ohio, stamping plant, employment has dropped from
2,600 to 2,200 just since the last contract. New machines,
called transfer presses, do the work of several presses, wiping
out production jobs.
Even skilled jobs are being cut: Fewer machines require
fewer people to repair them.
The new contract begins to address this. Employment levels
must be kept at 80 percent of current levels, regardless of the
cause of job reduction. The 95 percent formula regarding
outsourcing remains intact. The agreement also bars the
corporation from closing any plant or spinning off any
division.
However, allowing the bosses to cut 20 percent of the work
force could still cost 10,000 to 15,000 jobs. If Ford and GM
adopt the pattern, that could add up to 100,000 jobs.
The contract does nothing to promote a shorter work week,
which could seriously curtail downsizing. The new agreement
between the Canadian Auto Workers and Ford makes some progress
here, providing all workers an additional week of paid absence.
DaimlerChrysler workers in Germany work a 35-hour week. It can
be done.
With its shortcomings, the agreement still represents
significant concessions by the company to the union. The bosses
are making record profits and are eager to maintain class
peace. They remember last year's strikes that shut down mighty
GM, costing it billions of dollars. Meanwhile, Ford workers are
gearing up for a possible strike if Ford insists on selling the
Visteon division.
This article is copyright under a Creative Commons License.
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