TPT July 2007

From the AmericaS

its share of metal content in North American autos from 80lbs in 1973 to 327lbs last year.

If the union support reflects a new pragmatism in the labour movement in the US, the project suggests a possibly unfounded optimism among Chrysler management, struggling to bring the company back from $1.5 billion in losses last year. A new owner could cancel the plans for the plants. One person whose response is unambiguously positive, despite the net loss of jobs, is Michigan’s governor, Jennifer M Granholm. She noted that Chrysler’s plans for the two new plants would mean the largest investment in the state by a single company since she was elected five years ago. In brief . . . • The Canadian auto parts maker Magna International (Aurora, Ontario) was reported on May 2 to be in talks with auto unions in Canada and the US about adding Magna’s huge workforce to their ranks. After Delphi (Troy, Michigan), Magna is the largest auto parts maker in North America, and offers wages and benefits comparable to those in unionized factories. But the family-owned company – whose 50,350 manufacturing employees in Canada, US, and Mexico also assemble cars for several European manufacturers – has permitted unions in only a few of its plants. The agreement under consideration would reportedly combine the Canadian Auto Workers with the United Automobile Workers, of the US, and cover all their workers in both countries.

Despite talk of a DaimlerChrysler split, Chrysler plans two new plants for Michigan The Chrysler Group on April 18 said it would invest $1.43 billion to build two plants in Michigan to make parts for Chrysler and Mercedes vehicles. The axle and engine plants would be the largest components of a Chrysler plan for southeast Michigan that includes modernizing two assembly plants in suburban Detroit. The timing of the announcement was notable. Even as Chrysler’s chief executive, Thomas W. LaSorda, said that construction on the new plants would begin soon, the company’s German-American parent, DaimlerChrysler, was possibly on the verge of splitting up. While discussions with potential bidders for Chrysler were said to be moving slowly, DaimlerChrysler pointedly said a sale was among the options it was keeping open. Another curiosity is the support for the new factories – an engine plant southwest of Detroit and an axle plant northeast of the city – by the United Automobile Workers. The plants are expected to employ about 1,815 fewer union members than the aging (one was built in 1917) and inefficient facilities they will replace.

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J uly /A ugust 2007