Maryland Daily Record
The United Auto Workers union and Chrysler LLC said Wednesday evening that a tentative four-year contract agreement had been reached, ending a daylong strike that sent about 34,000 workers to the picket lines. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger had sought a Chrysler contract patterned after a similar agreement reached with General Motors Corp. which was ratified Wednesday. This was the first contract negotiated between the union and Chrysler’s new owners, Cerberus Capital Management.
Neither side would discuss specifics pending ratification of the agreement by the union In a statement, Chrysler said “the national agreement is consistent with the economic pattern, and balances the needs of our employees and company by providing a framework to improve our long-term manufacturing competitiveness.” The strike did not affect all Chrysler plants, including those in Newark, Del. Belvidere, Ill., Warren, Mich. and two plants in Detroit.
Earlier on Wednesday, Maryland Chrysler Jeep dealers said they were prepared for the strike. “As long as it doesn’t go too long, we have enough cars to get by,” said Michael Walters, sales manager at Tate Chrysler Jeep in Glen Burnie. Jeff Goldman, marketing director for the Antwerpen Automotive Group, which operates Antwerpen Chrysler Jeep, said the company was prepared to shift its focus to used car sales if the strike went too long.
“We’re well prepared and have an adequate supply of cars to last us pretty long time,” he said. “But if things get bad, we’ll keep the lights on by selling used cars.” And Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association, said dealers would do fine. “From what I know, Chrysler dealers are in pretty good shape,” he said. The Associated Press and Bloomberg contributed to this story.