The United Auto Workers union would eventually own 55% of the stock in a restructured Chrysler LLC under the deal reached by the union and the auto maker, according to a summary of the agreement that was reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Fiat SpA ‘eventually’ will own 35%, and the U.S. government and Chrysler’s secured lenders together will end up owning 10% of the company once it is reorganized, that summary said. The summary was distributed Monday evening at a gathering of union leaders in Sterling Heights, Mich. The deal was first disclosed Sunday night. The UAW aims for Chrysler workers to vote Wednesday on the proposed agreement, which requires changes to the union’s current Chrysler contract. According to the summary, Chrysler will also issue a $4.59 billion note to the health-care trust fund that the union will manage for retired workers. The agreement said Chrysler will pay $300 million in cash into the trust fund in 2010 and 2011, and increasing amounts up to $823 million in the years 2019 to 2023. The trust fund will own a ‘significant’ amount of Chrysler stock and will be allowed to appoint a representative to Chrysler’s board, […]
Tuesday, April 28th, 2009
UAW to Get 55% Stake in Chrysler for Concessions
Author: ALEX P. KELLOGG and KRIS MAHER
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Publication Date: 28-Apr-09
Link: UAW to Get 55% Stake in Chrysler for Concessions
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Publication Date: 28-Apr-09
Link: UAW to Get 55% Stake in Chrysler for Concessions
Stephan: I have a different, and more positive, view of this. If the workers' union owns the majority of the stock, and comes to see this not as a concession but as the fuel of transformation; if the UAW can focus its collective intention, and wed it to good design accepting the inevitability of the Green Transition, anything is possible. Within less than a decade Chrysler could be an ecological and financial success story. The alternative is the death spiral of a moth to the candle flame.