Quality Weenie

We Had Our Fingers Crossed

Dispite getting big concessions from the UAW for promises, in writing, of job security Chrysler, claiming they had their fingers crossed behind their backs when they signed the contract, is getting rid of 12,000 employees this month.

Chrysler drastically scaled back its North American operations Thursday with plans to cut shifts at five assembly plants, eliminate 12,000 more jobs and drop a handful of unpopular vehicles from its product lineup.

Looks like contracts mean nothing and the UAW at Chrysler is now regretting signing the contract. I don't blame them, Chrysler made promises to them for getting drastic cuts and yet Chrysler goes back on their word. They out and out screwed it's workers.

They have pissed off a lot of people now.

Chrysler LLC workers said they feel deceived after the company announced massive job cuts Thursday, just days after the United Auto Workers agreed to a controversial contract with the Auburn Hills automaker.

"I supported that contract and would have voted 'no' if I knew half the workers here would be laid off. It's sad," said Lydia Johnson, a line worker at Chrysler's Sterling Heights Assembly.

Privately owned Chrysler intends to slash up to 10,000 hourly jobs through 2008 and reduce shifts at five North American assembly plants. Some 2,100 salaried and contract positions also will be cut.

Trust me, the workers will not forget this. And it's having some effect on the Ford negotiations going on right now.

News of the job losses also has shaken Ford Motor Co. hourly workers, who are in the final stages of contract negotiations with the Dearborn carmaker.

Ford workers, who are waiting for UAW leaders and the Dearborn automaker to reach a tentative labor agreement, said they'll now view any promise of job security with deeper skepticism.

"You get promises of job security and it turns out they don't mean much," said Al Figlan, a skilled tradesman at Ford's Van Dyke Transmission plant in Sterling Heights. "You bet a lot of us are paying attention to that."

I think Ford is going to have to make some real promises to get the contract to pass.

Chrysler is going to have some problems on their hands if they want anything else from the UAW, I wouldn't trust anything Chrysler said to me now.

Posted by Quality Weenie at November 2, 2007 08:08 AM | TrackBack