UAW sets negotiation deadline on Chrysler contract settlement

0 Comments | USA TODAY, October, 2007 | by Sharon Silke Carty

DETROIT -- The United Auto Workers union is pushing Chrysler to wrap up contract negotiations quickly by setting a deadline of 11 a.m. Wednesday.

If a contract settlement isn't reached by that time, the UAW has told Chrysler it will strike. But a strike this week at Chrysler might have little impact: The automaker has idled five of its 10 assembly plants in the USA to adjust inventory in the face of weakening demand.

The strike threat comes two weeks after a two-day strike against General Motors as the union pressed for job guarantees in exchange for agreeing to set up a trust to fund retiree health care.

Setting a deadline could mean a deal is close, says David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research.

"There's no way in any...