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UAW officials from Chrysler plants across the country were put on notice today to expect calls as early as this weekend that would bring them to Detroit to discuss details of a new tentative labor agreement with Chrysler, as talks escalate at both Chrysler and General Motors.

One Chrysler local received a call today with instructions to have officials’ bags packed, one person said, declining to be named because developments during negotiations are private. Another Chrysler UAW official received instructions to be available by cell phone.
Traditionally, local presidents and bargaining unit chairs come to Detroit to discuss tentative agreements reached at the bargaining table, although a pre-agreement strategy session is also a possibility. Three UAW officials at GM plants said they had yet to receive such calls. A UAW spokeswoman declined to comment on the development.
Meanwhile, Chrysler negotiators were told Wednesday night to “bring a change of clothes and a wash rag” starting Thursday, said one person briefed on the progress of talks.

Discussions on the new contract are happening concurrently at GM and Chrysler, and the union is going back and forth between the two as it works to complete the contracts, according to a person close to the discussions.

Health care a focus

Contracts at both GM and Chrysler are likely to include big signing bonuses. GM’s new agreement will likely add thousands of new jobs at U.S. plants, change the contract that governs the four former Delphi plants owned by GM and offer buyouts for skilled trades workers but not employees who work on the line, people familiar with the talks have said.

At Chrysler, negotiators continue to focus on health care and new jobs. The automaker is seeking higher contributions from blue-collar employees.
Hourly workers pay about 7% of their annual health care costs on GM and Chrysler. At Ford, workers pay about 5%. That’s much lower than the average private sector American worker with a family who pays about 33% of his or her health care premiums, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has been monitoring the discussions but has not been at the bargaining table. Marchionne is in Calgary for a speech Friday and is leaving Saturday afternoon to fly to Germany for the Frankfurt Auto Show.
Once the automakers and UAW have an agreement and have briefed local presidents and bargaining unit chairs, the union usually rolls out the contract to other local plant officials, who then take the agreement to their plants for ratification votes. GM and Chrysler lost the right to strike when they received federal restructuring assistance. UAW members won’t be able to vote on any unresolved issue that goes into binding arbitration.