Less than a day after the UAW, Chrysler and Fiat agreed upon the terms of a contract that would keep the struggling U.S. automaker afloat, details of the agreement have surfaced in which the union will take a controlling share in Chrysler.
At first it seemed almost too good to be true that all sides had reached an agreement without the need for decreased wages. Instead the agreement stipulated that Chrysler would significantly reduce its participation in the employee retirement program.
The agreement came just days after a similar agreement had been reach between Chrysler Canada and the Canadian Auto Workers union - an agreement that was ratified the same day Chrysler and the UAW put together the current proposal.
Now word has leaked that in exchange for Chrysler's reduced payments to the company's retirement plan, the company had to essentially hand itself over to the union. In total, the UAW will get a 55 percent stake in the planned Chrysler-Fiat partnership, with Fiat initially taking a 20 percent share, with up to 35 percent ownership possible if certain conditions are met.
The agreement now has to go before Chrysler's 26,000 workers, with voting on Wednesday in order to ratify the agreement ahead of the government's end-of-month bankruptcy deadline. If the deal is reached and Fiat signs on, the Federal Treasury will provide Chrysler (or should we say the UAW) with $6 billion to keep the automaker afloat.
Meanwhile, one other major player (which has been incredibly quiet during this ordeal) has agreed to remove itself from the situation. Daimler will shed its 20 percent stake in Chrysler and rethink ever working with a U.S. automaker again.
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Chrysler/UAW Agreement Gives Union 55 Percent Share of Automaker on AutoGuide.com
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