UAW-DaimlerChrysler Accord Is Ratified; Stage Now Set for GM

The United Auto Workers union said its members ratified a four-year contract with DaimlerChrysler, setting the stage for intensified talks on a similar accord with General Motors Corp.

The DaimlerChrysler agreement includes base-wage increases of 3% in each year, as well as a $1,350 signing bonus. DaimlerChrysler assemblers, the most common job covered by the contract, now make $20.11 an hour. About 86% of the ballots cast were in favor of the accord, the UAW said.

The DaimlerChrysler accord covers 70,000 employees and sets a pattern that GM and Ford Motor Co. have been asked to follow for an additional 300,000 workers. UAW negotiators are tailoring the accord to GM’s need to trim jobs to match rivals’ productivity, while clarifying pensions and job assignments at Delphi Automotive Systems Corp., a parts maker GM spun off this year.

“Our members have every reason to be proud of these industry-leading contracts and every reason to be proud of the contribution they have made to turning this company around,” UAW President Stephen Yokich said in a statement.

Yokich praised “the constructive approach to labor-management relations demonstrated by Thomas Stallkamp,” who was removed from the company’s management board last week, after the contract had been negotiated.

A DaimlerChrysler spokesman said the contract “represents a solid foundation from which together we can continue to grow DaimlerChrysler for the benefit of everyone in our family.”

Yokich and GM Chairman John F. Smith Jr. participated in weekend talks, officials said.

DaimlerChrysler shares rose $1.13 to close at $69.50. GM climbed 44 cents to $62.50, and Delphi gained 13 cents to $16.56. All trade on the New York Stock Exchange.