Cerberus: We’ll honor the UAW contract

Chrysle’s new owner will be a private equity group, Cerberus Capital Management, whose affiliate agreed to acquire 80.2 percent of Chrysler on May 13, while previous owner Daimler retained 19.9 percent of ownership.

After fighting hard to maintain the status quo — keeping the Chrysler Group as part of DaimlerChrysler — UAW leadership was persuaded that the sale will an opportunity for UAW membership and the communities in which they live and work.

“After a thorough review and several meetings with the company, the UAW is ready to move forward with the new owner,” Gettelfinger said. “We’re going to do everything we can to make the most of it.”

The UAW was not part of the bidding process nor did it have any input in the final selection as German-based Daimler looked for a buyer of its Chrysler group. But after agreeing to take majority control, Cerberus executives said they will work with UAW members.

“Cerberus will honor the UAW contract, and as we enter contract negotiations this summer, the sale of Chrysler will not affect our bargaining goals as discussed at the UAW’s Special Convention on Collective Bargaining.”

The union’s concerns about Chrysler being owned by a private company were addressed when International and local union leadership met with Cerberus’ chief executives after the sale.

“Cerberus was really the only bidder for Chrysler that promised to keep the company intact. They seem to understand the issues facing the industry today,” said UAW Vice President General Holiefield, director of the union’s Chrysler Department.

“They want to help us fight for fair trade laws, deal with the problem of high gas prices and bring Chrysler back to where it belongs. Cerberus says they are a ‘made-in-America’ kind of company.”

While meeting with Cerberus officials at Chrysler headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., Gettelfinger and Holiefield were also given assurances that planned investments made under Daimler ownership would proceed.

One week after Cerberus acquired a majority stake in Chrysler, the company broke ground on a $700-million axle plant in Marysville, Mich., 55 miles northeast of Detroit, that will begin production in 2009. It will employ 900 workers.

Another Chrysler groundbreaking took place two days later in the downriver community of Trenton, Mich., 23 miles south of Detroit. This $730 million investment in a new engine plant is part of a $3-billion investment in fuel-efficient vehicles.

The new 822,000-square-foot Trenton Engine plant will employ about 600 workers who will build the new Phoenix V-6 engine. The current Trenton engine plant will be idled in 2014 or 2015.

The company also said it will spend $450 million to upgrade its Kenosha, Wis., engine plant so the factory can make more V-6 engines. It will employ 700 workers.