Chrysler Asking UAW for Major Work-Rule Changes

Chrysler on Thursday asked the United Auto Workers to grant sweeping concessions in work rules and job classifications in order to improve the company’s competitive position against Japanese auto makers.

Making public its initial bargaining proposal of the current contract talks, the No. 3 U.S. auto maker said it has asked that the number of job classifications at its U.S. plants be reduced from 500 to just six or eight.

Thomas Miner, Chrysler’s chief labor negotiator, said the reduction could save the company millions of dollars by allowing workers to perform a number of tasks.

The current system, he said, “leads to inefficiencies--two or three people standing around waiting for one man to do his job so they can do theirs. We just can’t do it anymore. We’ve got to find better ways, cheaper ways, to build automobiles.”

In addition, Chrysler is seeking the adoption of a proposal that would link the wages paid its hourly workers with its corporate earnings. If approved, the proposal would allow for wage hikes only when the company is profitable and would automatically freeze wages should Chrysler fall upon hard times. Other proposed changes include lower starting pay for new employees, reducing the number of company-paid union representatives and modifying the seniority structure.

“We’re not asking for concessions,” Miner told a press conference here. “We’re just saying that, when the company isn’t making any money, the workers should stay where they are, and, when times are good, we will pay more.”

A spokesman for the UAW told reporters that the union’s chief negotiator, Marc Stepp, would not respond publicly to Miner’s comments.

The current contract, which covers 70,000 U.S. employees, expires Oct. 15. The UAW is currently polling members for a strike authorization if the talks fail.

The talks are scheduled to resume Wednesday after a Labor Day break.