
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, October 2, 1993                   TAG: 9310020110
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: A-6   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HIGHLAND PARK, MICH.                                LENGTH: Medium

CHRYSLER JOINS THE PACT 6,000 WORKERS TAKE A HIKE PREMATURELY

The United Auto Workers and Chrysler Corp. reached a tentative agreement Friday on a new three-year contract, after about 6,000 employees jumped the gun and walked off the job at midnight.

The scattered job actions ended quickly when word spread of agreement on contracts covering 54,000 hourly and 6,000 salaried workers.

Tom Gallagher, Chrysler vice president of employee relations, said the No. 3 automaker agreed to the basic pattern contract the union negotiated at Ford Motor Co. two weeks ago.

The UAW next week moves to General Motors Corp., the last stop in its triennial bargaining ritual. Many expect talks at GM to be the toughest of the Big Three, because GM, unlike Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler, is cutting jobs and closing factories.

At Chrysler, the biggest issue was how much work the company contracts with outsiders. Chrysler makes only about 30 percent of the parts it uses in house, the smallest percentage among the Big Three.

The tentative deal calls for:

A 3 percent wage increase in the first year, followed by lump-sum bonuses equal to 3 percent in the second and third years.

Continuation of fully paid health benefits with no new co-pays or deductibles.

Better pension benefits for workers who retire after 30 years.

A lower starting wage for new hires. They will get 70 percent of the top wage and reach parity with current workers in three years. Under the old contract, new hires started at 85 percent and reached parity in 18 months.

Chrysler stock finished $1 a share higher Friday at $49.

by CNB