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Thursday, September 29, 2005
Autoworkers, Big 3 in Canada settle
Pact portends tough talks on U.S. contract
DETROIT -- The United Auto Workers can expect the Big Three automakers to demand job cuts and offer meager wage increases in its next contract based on the outcome of union talks in Canada.
"I don't think there's anyone in the UAW that's going to admit it, but I think clearly the writing is on the wall that something has to give in 2007, if not before that time," said Erich Merkle, senior auto analyst with the consulting firm IRN Inc.
The Canadian Auto Workers wrapped up negotiations with the Big Three late Tuesday, narrowly averting a strike against General Motors Corp. Workers have ratified contracts with Ford Motor Co. and DaimlerChrysler AG, and they are scheduled to vote soon on the contract with GM. The UAW's four-year contract with the Big Three expires Sept. 15, 2007, and formal negotiations are scheduled to begin in July of that year.
The CAW agreed to three-year contracts with GM, Ford and DaimlerChrysler that will cut about 3,500 workers, mostly through attrition. That's more than 8.5 percent of the CAW's current work force at the Big Three.
The CAW agreed to wage increases of about 1.5 percent in the first year, followed by 1 percent gains in each of the next two years, down from increases of 2 percent per year in its last contract. It also agreed to a pension increase of just $6.80 per month over the life of the contract for retired auto workers.
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