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The ongoing truckers blockade has now shut down almost all Fiat production in Italy. The Mirafiori, Sevel Sud, Melfi, Cassino and Pomigliano factories have been idled and workers sent home for the rest of the week because it is impossible for supplies to be delivered.
Fiat S.p.A. says it is losing 4,200 units of production per day.
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Chrysler will add a third crew and 1,100 new jobs at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant. The new jobs will help Chrysler expand the Jeep Grand Cherokee lineup by adding a diesel engine for the North American market. In addition, 150 jobs will be added when the company reopens the Conner Avenue to build the SRT Viper.
The company says that adding the 1,250 new jobs demonstrates Chrysler’s commitment to Detroit and the belief workers int he Motor City can produce “…luxurious, high-quality, state-of-the art vehicles that are true to a shared heritage and aspire to create a better and sustainable future.”
“Our future, like the history of our brands, is interwoven with the City of Detroit,” said Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne. “Detroit long has been home to renowned innovators and craftsmen. So it is in the Motor City, home of our industrial heritage and a resilient people, that we are entrusting the manufacture not only of the ultimate American sports car, the SRT Viper, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee – the most awarded SUV ever – but also a diesel version of the Jeep Grand Cherokee for North American markets.
“We believe that investing in Detroit is not only the right thing to do, but it is a smart thing to do as we work to write the next chapter in our shared history,” Marchionne said.
The new Jefferson North crew will work Chrysler’s 3-2-120 schedule that allows for an extra 20 hours of production each week without the use of overtime. The controversial schedule, which employees have faulted for creating stress and health issues, was one of the topics covered during last fall’s labor negotiations.
Even with the schedule, the UAW is happy about the new jobs.
“We are pleased to have Chrysler Group acknowledge the contributions of the UAW here in the Motor City by relying on our workforce to produce two of its most acclaimed vehicles,” said General Holiefield, UAW Vice President-Chrysler Department. “Our workers nationwide have had a rough couple of years along with the American auto industry and we are proud to be partners in building a future of success starting right here in Detroit.”
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FIOM, the Italian metalworkers union that has been in a bitter struggle with Fiat SpA over new labor agreements, says it will continue to observe the agreements reached in 2008 and will proceed with a four-hour strike next Monday, January 9, 2012.
The union originally called the strike on December 16. According to FIOM leader Maurizio Landini, the actions will be tailored to each region. In his announcement, Landini said “There will be a campaign of extraordinary meetings in all workplaces, including preparation for a national demonstration in Rome on February 11.”
Landini says the union called the strike to protest Fiat’s unilateral termination of its previous labor contracts and notes FIOM has not signed on to the new agreements. approved by FIM, UILM and Federmeccanica last year. FIOM will continue to protest the agreements and will carry the fight from factory to factory. It has been circulating a call for a referendum on the contracts and claims to have collected over ten thousand signatures in three days.
FIOM, one of Italy’s most powerful and militant unions, was barred last year from organizing in Fiat plants because it did not sign the new labor contracts. FIOM sued the automaker, asking an Italian court to overturn the new accords. The judge ruled against the union, but overruled the provision that excluded FIOM from Fiat facilities.
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Workers at Fiat’s Cassino – Piedimonte San Germano plant are confronting an idle Christmas and a not-so-happy New Year. All 4,300 of the plant’s employees have been furloughed through January 9, 2012 and they will be working just three days a week when they return.
The Cassino plant builds the Fiat Bravo, Lancia Delta and Alfa Romeo Giulietta and total output is about 600 cars a day. The union workers, who have approved a Pomigliano-style labor contract, are waiting to see if a new vehicle will be assigned to their plant or if they will be working part-time for nearly a year waiting for the next generation Giulietta.
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Fiat has new contracts covering 86,000 of its employees in the FIM, UILM, UGL and Fismic unions. The agreements have been signed in Turin. As expected, FIOM, the Italian metalworkers union, was not a party to the signing.
According to Rocco Palombella, secretary-general of UILM, the new contracts confirm Fiat’s investments in Italian factories and the company’s pledge to remain in Italy.
In exchange for more shifts and shorter breaks, workers will get a 600 euro (about $783) bonus and a 5.2% increase in base pay in 2012. In addition, the agreements cover a 10% increase for overtime, the reaffirmation of two levels of bargaining and a new job classification. Union representation will be based on the proportion of employees belonging to each union.
On the key issue of absenteeism, the new agreements provides protection for workers who use the system honestly while providing deterrents for those do not have a valid reason for missing work. This had been one of the most contentious items in the negotiations.
Fiat Spa released a letter from CEO Sergio Marchionne commenting on the new contract:
“The agreement signed today represents an historic turning point for Fiat and Fiat Industrial and our workers.
“The new contract provides us a modern instrument that reflects international standards for the industry and will enable both groups to operate more efficiently and create the conditions essential for continued investment in Italy.
“In addition, it guarantees that all existing rights of our workers remain unchanged and enables them to be the first to benefit from an increase in productivity. There will, in fact, be concrete financial benefits from increased utilization of plant capacity and greater flexibility for overtime.
“It is an agreement that provides significant advantages for everyone.
“Reaching an agreement was not easy, but everyone at the table understood perfectly that perpetuating the models of the past – the models responsible for our plants in Italy falling so far behind standards in the rest of the world – was no longer possible.
“Everyone remained focused on the same objective: to create a system that rewards workers for the success of the business while, at the same time, guaranteeing that Fiat and Fiat Industrial can become more competitive.
“The unions that embraced this challenge alongside us deserve recognition for their courage to change things, for adopting an innovative approach, the only approach through which a solid basis for the future, for growth and progress, can be built.
“Today demonstrates that significant steps forward can be made when parties join forces and work in the same direction with a true commonality of purpose.
“It is also a demonstration of the will of the majority within society to say no to the professional critics, to roll up their sleeves and resolve the problems and, above all, do the work necessary to find the solutions.
“It is also, I believe, a symbol of significant hope for this nation.”
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Fiat saw about 13% of its union workers join a general, one-day strike called by FIOM, the Italian metalworkers’ union. FIOM called for an eight-hour strike to protest the new government of Mario Monti and the decision by Fiat to unilaterally terminate its labor agreements.
Italy’s other three major labor organizations, CGIL, CISL and UIL, gave limited support to the strike.
FIOM says it is still counting the number of workers that participated and hopes to have a clearer picture by tomorrow.
While the strike did not change the agreement that will be signed between Fiat and unions representing a majority of its employees, it did postpone the signing for another day. FIOM, which has already lost a court challenge to the new contract’s terms, will not be a party to the signing.
Fiat would like to have the contract signed before Wednesday, when CEO Sergio Marchionne and board chairman John Elkann travel to Naples to make the official announcement that the Pomigliono d’Arco plant will be the production site for the new Panda, one of Fiat’s best-selling vehicles.
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