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In the last thread, just before it closed Unionist posted:
The end may be near:
CAW, Chrysler nearing deal, sources say
And an op-ed piece by Ken Lewenza:
Cutting wages won't solve auto industry's problems
Independent data verify that CAW plants today are the most productive in North America. And our hourly labour costs are significantly lower than in the U.S. We understand the sands are shifting quickly in this industry. And we commit to ensuring that, at the end of the day, the Canadian advantage is still there.
But the executives and politicians who are holding a gun to the workers' head today are looking for something quite different. They want unions out of the way so that the costs of the current crisis can be shifted onto the shoulders of those with less power – including workers, the unemployed and pensioners (who are perhaps the most innocent victims of all). That precedent will affect all workers and retirees, not just autoworkers. And that's why we're refusing to be blackmailed.
I don't know about the end may be near.
Near, yes. But ever getting the rest of the way....
"The rest of it" hangs on the circus of negotiations going on elsewhere. And the CAW is looking for comparable protections should there be bankruptcy, that the UAW is going to get... and those are ? who knows yet. Let alone the impact of differences between a Canadian and a US bankruptcy. And time to do all this. And it isn't just the CAW and its Chrysler negotiators waiting on what happens in the US... in the US that Canadian unknown is substantial. And so it goes, with time running out. Really.
Its telling enough that after reiterating countless times how much the pattern means, Lewenza now says "There is no pattern any more."
Star article along lines of what I was saying, with more detail [and without the backdrop of moaning].
http://www.thestar.com/business/article/623623
Chrysler reaches deal with CAW
Ken Lewenza, president of the Canadian Auto Workers, also revealed if Chrysler slips into bankruptcy court protection in the U.S. and Canada, operations here would not be liquidated and remain among the company's "good" operating assets. Workers would also not face further concessions if there is a bankruptcy, he said.
Lewenza, who described the negotiations as "torturous and unfair," said the deal would lead to about $240 million in annual savings for the company but not reduce wages and pensions.
"We will live to fight for another day," he said.
He also disclosed that the company and the CAW will work to develop a retiree health care trust fund which will eventually transfer responsibility of costs to the union. It would be similar in concept to a U.S. plan at Chrysler.
The union would not disclose how much the savings represent in so-called "all in" labour costs but officials said privately the concessions meet company demands of reducing expenses by $19 an hour.
Some more details from Canadian Press:
It reduces paid relief time, cuts some supplementary unemployment benefits, increases prescription drug fees, eliminates semi-private hospital coverage and gets rid of the employee car purchase and tuition rebate programs, among other things.
Under the agreement, the salaries of new workers will also increase more slowly than they do currently, and more room will be made for part-time and contract workers in Chrysler plants.
Lewenza said the agreement with Chrysler will also help reduce its legacy costs by giving it 10 years instead of five [to] top up its pension fund.
And the union has agreed to negotiate a health-care trust fund that will help administer the benefits of retired workers.
These concessions are in addition to cuts already agreed to with General Motors in an deal reached last month, which freezes wages until 2012, reduces paid time off by 40 hours per year, scraps an annual $1,700 bonus, cuts company contributions to union-sponsored programs and requires CAW members to contribute $30 a month to their health benefits.
CAW Chrysler members ratified the deal by 87%.
And then this:
Following on the heels of CAW union ratification of new deal, Chrysler and UAW also come to terms
It'll be interesting to see Fiat's take on the new deal. The official stance of the US government seems to be that the survival of Chrysler is dependent on them sorting something out with Fiat. Hopefully Fiat will be agreeable to the revised labour deals. If not they're quite capable of telling Chrysler that the merger will happen if and only if the unions will agree to something more. My expectaion is that, if that happens, the whole thing will fall apart and Chrysler is doomed.
Of course they are "agreeable" to the 'revised' labour agreements. More than agreeable. After all, they took an active role in helping point the gun to the head.
Next up is the gun to the head of the Chrysler debt holders- weilded by the US government.
At bottom, what the UAW and CAW got was a floor under how much they can loose in their pension and benefit plans in the coming Chapter 11.
When it comes down to it, the debt holders have even less to bargain with. They've been doing absurd posturing in advance.
When the main restructuring elements are finished- within the week- assuming it is all going to fly, there is every reason to expect Fiat is on board.
There is talk that the Windsor plant is slated to get a Fiat product. But that is so far off and things change daily. Makes sense, but no one is going to take that to the bank.
Best summary I have seen anywhere of the details of the Chrysler restructuring and how all the pieces fit. From Reuters.
It's just an outline. But all the financial pieces are there as far as I can see.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090430.wchrysleryba...
Interesting sidenote is that the holdouts of the debt holders [all but the big banks] lost nothing for their holdout. They get in bankruptcy what they were offered, but refused to take. [Which is why in the end the bankruptcy was required.]
"It's halftime, America....This country can’t be knocked out with one punch. We get right back up again, and when we do the world is going to hear the roar of our engines. Yeah."
Eastwood's Super Bowl ad sparks the discord it decries
“Did I just see Clint Eastwood fronting an auto bailout ad?” groaned conservative pundit Michelle Malkin on Twitter.
Meanwhile, David Axelrod, President Obama’s chief reelection strategist, cheered in a tweet. “Powerful spot,” he said.
On Monday, Karl Rove, the former aide to President George W. Bush, said that he was “offended” by the Eastwood ad, suggesting that the Obama administration had a role in its production.
“I'm a huge fan of Clint Eastwood. I thought it was an extremely well-done ad, but it is a sign of what happens when you have Chicago-style politics, and the president of the United States and his political minions are, in essence, using our tax dollars to buy corporate advertising and the best wishes of the management which is benefited by getting a bunch of our money that they'll never pay back," Rove charged on Fox News.
At the White House media briefing Monday, Jay Carney, the press secretary, said neither the administration nor the Obama campaign had anything to do with the spot.
Still, that doesn’t mean Carney passed on the chance to talk up the auto bailout.
Great stuff! Thanks, Catchfire! And even though I don't like some of the chauvinist jingoism, I must admit that Clint does one great commercial.