DETROIT — For most outsiders, the UAW ratification process of a new proposed four-year agreement is confusing because many union members are speaking out against a contract that looks like a really good deal.
The UAW's proposed contract with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles would give every union member a raise of some kind and a $3,000 signing bonus.
All entry-level workers would move to a new, higher pay scale. Workers hired before 2007 would get their first raise in more than 10 years.
And a new health care structure that would oversee health care benefits is designed to negotiate lower costs with providers so workers don't have to pay more.
In short, the contract delivers almost everything UAW President Dennis Williams set out to get when he sat down with FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne.
But in early voting on Thursday, workers at three large UAW units voted to reject the agreement and only one voted in favor.
Why are so many workers voting against the deal?
The reasons boil down to what the UAW members see as broken promises, uncertainty and a lack of clarity.
Here's four reasons why UAW members say they are voting to reject the agreement:
1. The 25% cap disappeared: Workers say the UAW and Fiat Chrysler should honor a 25% cap on entry-level workers that would automatically boost the pay of workers from $19.28 per hour to $28 per hour once the company exceeds that threshold.
The cap was originally negotiated as part of the UAW's 2007 agreement with Chrysler. It also was included as part of a summary of the 2011 contract that was distributed to workers, and every entry-level worker was told by UAW representatives that they had a shot at eventually making $28 per hour when they were hired. But the cap wasn't in the actual 2011 contract.
"I can’t find that," UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell told members of UAW Local 1700 on Sunday.
So instead of forcing the automaker to reinstate the cap, the UAW got the automaker to agree to raise entry-level wages for production workers to a range of $17 to $25.35 per hour. This gives all entry-level production workers a small, but immediate raise and a path to $25.35 per hour, or $52,728 per year before overtime, signing bonuses and profit sharing.
The result: Workers simply believe a promise was made and that promise is being broken.
2. Anxiety over Fiat Chrysler's product plan: Fiat Chrysler has promised to invest $5.3 billion over the next four years at plants in the U.S. But what's included in that number? Which plants will get the investments and what products will be made where?
Fiat Chrysler isn't saying and UAW officials are not saying.
Meanwhile, the Free Press and other publications have reported that production of the Chrysler 200, made in Sterling Heights, and the Dodge Dart, made in Belvidere, Ill., will be moved to Mexico. And, the Ram 1500 will be moved from Warren Truck to Sterling Heights and the Jeep Cherokee will move from Toledo to Belvidere.
Confused yet? Workers are, too. Thousands of Fiat Chrysler workers have no idea what car or truck they will be building two or three years from now. They don't know if they will be able to stay at their current plant or be relocated to another plant.
Uncertainty breeds anger, fear, frustration and, for many, a no vote.
3. Confusion over health care: A summary of the proposed contract says "a Health Care Co-op will be established. The Co-op will focus on improving health care benefits in an manner that increases quality, lowers cost, produces less waste and provides better patient care and outcomes."
But what is a co-op? Who will run it? The UAW? The company? The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust? An entirely new entity? Will workers have to pay more for their insurance?
The summary of the contract doesn't say. A Facebook message posted by the UAW says there will be no additional costs for health care other than a $100 payment for any emergency room visit that doesn't lead to being admitted to the hospital. Workers are also being told their health insurance and their health insurance provider will not change.
For many, none of this matters. They suspect this change in health care will eventually mean they will pay more in out of pocket costs and they still have many unanswered questions.
4. Anxiety and broken promises: The common theme running through all of the concerns by UAW members is a belief that past promises were broken and the information they have about the new contract doesn't adequately address their questions and concerns.
What comes next?
Workers at UAW locals across the country will continue attending informational meetings and voting through next Wednesday.
To be ratified, a majority of about 40,000 UAW members at 37 UAW local units across the U.S. must vote in favor of it.
