Local turns down Chrysler contract

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DUNDEE, Mich., Aug. 17 (UPI) -- The overwhelming rejection of a Chrysler Group contract proposal in Dundee, Mich., took union leaders by surprise, the engine factory's union chairman said.

"I don't know what happened. I thought we had a good win-win contract," plant chairman Tom Zimmerman of United Auto Workers Local 723 said after 73 percent of workers turned down a proposed contract.

The Detroit News reported Friday union workers had traditionally been offered a signing bonus with a new contract, but this contract did not have one. In addition, experienced workers were angered when management shifted to a rotating shift schedule that was favored by new hires.

Still, "We can't get our arms around it," Zimmerman said. "I'm bracing for the fallout."

Chrysler spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said workers cannot strike.

"We negotiated with them in good faith and had a tentative agreement. The UAW has got to figure out what they're going to do," Tinson said.