Chrysler and Union Workers Unable to Make A Deal

As we all know from watching Roger & Me in class, the feelings between the auto workers and the big car corporations are extremely tense. Especially now because many of the jobs that Americans once had have been outsourced to other countries. In addition, Ford, GM, and Chrysler have all been trying to find ways to cut costs since they almost collapsed in the recession in 2009. One way they cut costs was paying more workers at entry-level rates (only about $15 an hour compared to the $29 an hour veteran workers make). The union workers don't want this; they want to protect the veterans.

Chrysler and a few UAW (United Auto Workers) representatives met in Detroit this week to come up with a new collective bargaining agreement (Chapter 9 in our book). The talks ended on Wednesday because of a major stalemate between the two groups. Chrysler doesn't want a limit on the number of entry level workers they can hire while the UAW wants there to be a cap on the number of workers making entry-level pay. Neither side wants to budge, so there is a major stalemate. The UAW is moving on to talks with Ford to work out an agreement with them. The UAW already reached an agreement with GM so many people thought Chrysler would follow, but that didn't happen. I may not know all the facts so my opinion may not be that informed, but I'm going to have to side with the workers in this argument. A cap on the number of entry-level workers Chrysler can hire is not a huge thing to ask for. Chrysler can still hire some new workers to cut costs, but veterans would still be protected. And job security in an economy like ours is very important.