At ratification meetings this past weekend, CAW members at Chrysler voted 90% in favour of the new collective agreement.
The contract follows the pattern deal set with Ford on September 17th, and mirrored in the agreement with General Motors reached on September 20th.
It includes a $3,000 ratification bonus for workers as well as cost of living lump sum payments of $2,000 in each of 2013, 2014 and 2015. Current pension benefits for existing workers will be protected, while new jobs will be created at all Chrysler facilities.
Now that a deal has been ratified with the Big Three, CAW president Ken Lewenza said that the union will shift attention toward winning a long-overdue national auto policy for Canada. ''Without a comprehensive sector development strategy, the future of auto manufacturing in Canada remains uncertain, at best," he argued.
Such policies currently exist in Germany, Brazil and other countries.
The contract follows the pattern deal set with Ford on September 17th, and mirrored in the agreement with General Motors reached on September 20th.
It includes a $3,000 ratification bonus for workers as well as cost of living lump sum payments of $2,000 in each of 2013, 2014 and 2015. Current pension benefits for existing workers will be protected, while new jobs will be created at all Chrysler facilities.
Now that a deal has been ratified with the Big Three, CAW president Ken Lewenza said that the union will shift attention toward winning a long-overdue national auto policy for Canada. ''Without a comprehensive sector development strategy, the future of auto manufacturing in Canada remains uncertain, at best," he argued.
Such policies currently exist in Germany, Brazil and other countries.