For immediate release: Oct. 26, 2011

A majority of UAW Chrysler members vote in favor of contract ratification

UAW International Executive Board follows UAW Constitutional process and declares agreements ratified

DETROIT - A majority of UAW members at Chrysler Group LLC have voted in favor of ratification of the tentative agreement between the UAW and Chrysler. The results of voting conducted over the past two weeks are as follows:

Total Hourly Bargaining Unit (HBU), including skilled trades
54.75 percent voted for the agreement; 45.25 percent voted against the agreement.

Skilled Trades only
44.41 percent voted for the agreement; 55.59 percent voted against the agreement.

Salaried Bargaining Unit (SBU)
68.80 percent voted for the agreement: 31.20 percent voted against the agreement.

Because a majority of UAW skilled trades members voted against the tentative hourly agreement, under the UAW Constitution, the UAW International Executive Board (IEB) investigated the reasons skilled members voted against the proposed agreement and determined that these reasons were predominantly economic and not unique to skilled trades members. Accordingly, the IEB declared the agreements ratified under the UAW Constitution.

The contract is the third and final agreement ratified with the domestic automakers in the 2011 auto talks.

"With this agreement, we have made significant progress in times of economic uncertainty," said UAW Vice President General Holiefield. "We were able to make headway in bridging the gap between the New Hire pay and that of the existing workforce, return some of the benefits that members previously gave up to help the company survive, and win new jobs and investment in UAW plants."

"It's not everything our members deserve, but we did the best we could in these uncertain times and negotiated an agreement that will ensure Chrysler's viability so that we can share in its economic success once it has regained financial stability. I'm extremely proud of the membership in ratifying this contract. It affords opportunity for us to build some of the best products and enhances opportunities for Chrysler workers in the future," Holiefield added.

"In less than three years, Chrysler, through the dedication and hard work of its UAW-represented workers, has emerged from bankruptcy and repaid its federal loans six years early. Now through this collective bargaining agreement, we are adding jobs and helping to rebuild America," said Holiefield.

"This agreement adds 2,100 new UAW jobs which, together with jobs added at GM and Ford, mean more than 20,000 direct manufacturing jobs will be added to our economy," said UAW President Bob King. "The Center for Automotive Research estimates the multiplier for other jobs created from an auto manufacturing job is 10, so these 20,000 direct auto manufacturing jobs, will create another 180,000 jobs in devastated communities across America. The UAW and the domestic auto companies are jump-starting the nation's economic recovery," King added.

The tentative agreement includes $4.5 billion to produce new and upgraded vehicles and components by 2015.

Jobs, investment and product guarantees in the tentative agreement include:

• · Belvidere, Ill., New compact vehicle, estimated plant investment of $600 million
• · Sterling Heights, Mich., New compact vehicle, estimated plant investment of $850 million
• · Kokomo, Ind., New Front Wheel Drive 9 Speed - 946 TE transmission and new Rear Wheel Drive 8 Speed - 845RE transmission, estimated plant investment of $1.3 million
• · Toledo, Ohio, Next generation steering columns, FRW and RWD Torque Converters, estimated plant investment of $100 million
• · Trenton, Mich., Reutilize portion of the Trenton North Engine Plant to produce an incremental volume (150,000 units) of 3.8L V-6, estimated plant investment of $100 million

Here are the details of the agreement and a complete list of plant investment.

The UAW reached a tentative agreement with General Motors Co. on Sept. 16. The agreement was ratified by UAW members on Sept. 28. The UAW reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co. on Oct. 4, and the agreement was ratified on Oct. 19. The tentative agreement with Chrysler was reached Oct. 12.

The UAW represents 26,000 employees at Chrysler, including 3,000 salaried employees, at 48 Chrysler facilities in the United States, making vehicles and components with the Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mopar and Ram Truck brands.