UAW Seen Cool to DaimlerChrysler on Cuts
DETROIT Nov 23 (Reuters) - The United Auto Workers union representing
Chrysler's U.S. hourly work force is likely to give a ``cool reception'' to
any move by Germany's DaimlerChryler AG to reopen its year-old labor
contract, epecially if it means job or pay cuts, a labor professor said on
Thursday. ``The union and Chrysler workers showed in the '80s they were
willing to make pretty extraordinary sacrifices to save the company,'' said
Harley Shaiken of the University of California-Berkeley, noting that Chrysler
avoided bankruptcy with the help of worker pay cuts and federal loans.
``Things have changed. The perception is Daimler drove Chrysler into a ditch
and now wants the workers to pay for towing it out,'' Shaiken said.
Union officials could not be reached immediately for comment on Thursday.
DaimlerChrysler officials in Germany said on Thursday it would seek to amend
the five-year contract it reached with the UAW, which represents about 76,000
hourly workers at its plants. A spokesman said the world's No. 5 automaker
could not rule out job cuts to help stem losses at the struggling U.S. unit.
DaimlerChrysler Chief Financial Officer Manfred Gentz told Reuters in
Berlin that job cuts at Chrysler ``could become an issue'' and a statement
may be issued in the next few days. A company spokesman said earlier
Thursday the automaker would hold talks with the UAW, hoping to amend wages.
``In the talks with the UAW, we will be striving for greater flexibility
within the framework of the current agreements,'' the spokesman said. He
declined to comment on when the negotiations would begin. Analysts said
DaimlerChrysler may have to shed as many as 20,000 employees and permanently
close at least one of its 13 plants in North America as part of a
comprehensive cost-cutting program. Gentz said the group planned further
temporary plant shutdowns in North America on top of the three already
announced for next week to rein in output running ahead of demand and cut
vehicle inventories. Details of the Chrysler restructuring are due to be
announced in the first quarter of 2001. Chrysler Chief Executive Dieter
Zetsche, who replaced James Holden on Friday as part of sweeping management
changes aimed at reviving the unit's fortunes, began taking stock earlier
this week, a process that could lead to a broad range of measures. ``At
this point it is impossible to say what role job cuts could play,'' the
DaimlerChrysler spokesman said. Shaiken said DaimlerChrsyler's talk of
job cuts on the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday showed that the German executives
were out of touch with U.S. workers. ``Job cuts and cranberry sauce
don't go together,'' he said. ``This is not the kind of announcement
appropriate to the holiday.'' Shaiken added that DaimlerChrysler has
spurned opportunities to build a strong relationship with the UAW, most
notably stonewalling union efforts to organize workers at the company's
Mercedes SUV plant in Vance, Ala. They are not likely to accept job cuts
or reduced pay, he said, especially since a contract agreement was reached
just last year, when the U.S. auto industry was heading for record annual
sales. Chrysler lost more than $500 million in the third quarter.
Analysts expect further losses in the fourth quarter, and the company has
said it is unclear when Chrysler will return to profitability. Copyright ©
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