Evening star., 1950-01-25


Picture Of chYsier Workers os Strike
Storted. Pase AS.
pension plan dispute between the
company and the CIO-U United
Auto Workers. Talks broke of
Is minutes before the 10 am
walkout.
From the bargaining room, the
union flashed the message to locals
in 25 plants:
Hit the bricks, boys"
Assembly lines ground to a halt
as day shifts in the sprawline
Detroit plants. first to get the
word, swarmed out, Workers in
the rest of Chrysler's factories
followed suit.
Wanted 10-Cent Package"
Before long almost all ChryY-
ler's 10000 employees across the
Nation will be idle.
Many of Chrysler's supplier
firms also will feel the pinch i'm
mediately.
A spokesman for the Briggs
Manufacturing Co.. principal sup
plier of bodies for ChrySler-made
cars. said most of the $4,000
workers in its Detroit plants
would be laid off this afternoon.
The big snag in efforts to avoid
the strike was a union demand
that Chrysler make a dollars and
cents commitment in a new con-
tract. Benefits worth 10 cents
were asked as the "rockbottom
figure.
Chrysler stuck to its offer OF
a $100-a-month plan admins
tered entirely by the company. 1t
would be financed on a pay-as-
you-go basis. The company re-
jected the idea of a Jointly run
trust fund. on which the union
insisted.
Under such q, trust fund ar
rangement the union asks that
the company pay a set amount
into the fund covering all workers
From this fund money would be
drawn by a company union COM
mittee to cover pensions falling
due.
Walter Reuther, UAW presi-
dent, said the company wanted
to leave itself clear to "jerk the
string" at a later date by basing
the pensions on its promise to
pay.
ChrysIer Calls Plan Sound.
Herman Weckler, Chrysler gen.
eral manager, claimed Chrysler s
plan was as good or better than
any the CLIO has won.
"Chrysler pays wages regularly. -
he said. "It pays its bills regu-
larly. It's pension and insurance
payments would be just as sure
and sound"
MFR. Reuther said the company
was trying to squeeze out" of the
pension setup now in effect within
the steel industry and at Ford
Motor Co. In those industries,
labor won trust fund arrange
ments.
1t took strike to bring a steel
settlement last year but there was
no walkout at Ford.
Today was the second time
within less than two years that
the UAW called a walkout at
Chrysler. The union won a 13-
cent raise there in 194s after a
17-day walkout.
Hope Tor Solution.
There was still hope that the
current dispute might be solved.
Government mediators, who
stepped into the talks yesterday
said they expected to arrange
further negotiations. Just when
they could be arranged no one
could say.
Under the present company
union agreement, the Chrysler
contract ends Immediately when
a strike is called.
Mr.. Reuther said his union now
could demand whole new con-
tract, instead of only a new wage
clause in the old contract. due to
expire next August.
The UAW began negotiating
with Chrysler last July 8. Chrysler
consented to talk pensions only
after the Ford Motor Co. had
granted them to its workers.
Continuous Negotiations.
For the last II days. contract
talks went on continuously.
On January II Chrysler made
public its first offer. It was a plan
that workers could re-
tire on 500 a month, including
social security, at the age Of SIS
after rs years service. The COM
pany would have complete control
Of the plan.
Two days ago the union solidi-
fled its demands into a 10-cent
and made a surprise offer
to take a wage raise instead Of
pensions.
The UAW insisted that definite
figure for hourly payments should
be included In the contract. Chry-
sler said that was impossible.
There was obviously agreement
in principle on 500 pensions.
The terms of the plan were the
stumbling block.
!