The Detroit News - United Auto Workers President Bob King said Tuesday that he will not wait until workers vote on the tentative agreement with General Motors Co. before resuming negotiations with the other two Detroit automakers.
However, he did not say to which automaker he would talk next.
The UAW was close to inking a deal with Chrysler Group LLC when talks broke down a week ago, and most observers expect the union to resume negotiations with the Auburn Hills automaker now that terms of its tentative agreement with General Motors Co. have been released.
But King said Tuesday it's not a given.
"We will make that decision in the next day or two — whether we go to Chrysler or Ford," the union leader told reporters following a briefing on the GM deal.
"We haven't made that decision yet."
The UAW already has signed an open-ended extension with Ford Motor Co. But Chrysler agreed to only a one-week extension with the union and now faces a new deadline at 11:59 p.m. tonight.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne flew back to the United States from Europe on Tuesday and was reported to be ready to resume negotiations with King. Last Wednesday, Marchionne wrote a strongly worded message to King, saying the union leader had violated a gentlemen's agreement to sign a tentative agreement before expiration of the Chrysler-UAW contract just before midnight. He also accused King of putting his own political agenda ahead of his members' economic interests.
King said Tuesday that he would not let that letter stand in the way of an agreement with Chrysler. He has since spoken to Marchionne by telephone.
"We have a great relationship with Sergio and the Chrysler management. We're working together as we did here to create more jobs. That's what we're focused on," he said, noting that there were tense moments in the negotiations with GM, too.
"You remind yourself that it's our job to do the best job for our membership, and we're going to do that by creating jobs in America working with Chrysler, working with Mr. Marchionne. That's what our focus is."
On Monday, Marchionne told reporters in Italy that the deal the UAW negotiated with GM will not necessarily work for Chrysler. He pointed out that the two companies are in very different financial positions. GM made nearly $4.7 billion last year; Chrysler lost $652 million.
On Tuesday, King acknowledged that all three Detroit automakers are in different states of financial health with very different balance sheets. He said the union is willing to tweak the agreement to meet each company's unique needs.
"Everybody's got a different definition of 'pattern.' We will take the framework here and go to Ford and go to Chrysler. We think it's a framework that will work for all three companies," King said. "We bargained a great framework for all three companies."
Before leaving Europe, Marchionne said he was optimistic that Chrysler could still reach a speedy agreement with the UAW. Marchionne is also the CEO of Italy's Fiat SpA.
Patrick Anderson, chief executive of Anderson Economic Group LLC, said the Chrysler talks include a "wild card not seen in my lifetime: the potential to use foreign labor unions and foreign taxpayers as a foil."
Chrysler and the UAW remain at the bargaining table.
"We're talking," said Chrysler spokeswoman Jody Tinson.
If Chrysler and the UAW can't reach an agreement, the company could force the union into binding arbitration — a special provision of its 2009 bailout agreement with the U.S. government, along with a no-strike clause. Arbitration could be risky for both sides, though King said he is not worried.
"I have no concern about binding arbitration because I have no intention of going into binding arbitration," he said.
Ford said it has not received any official word of the UAW's plans, but is prepared to jump to the front of the line if asked.
The Dearborn automaker continued to hold meetings Tuesday, but much of the day was spent analyzing the details of the GM agreement.
