"It's terrible for workers," said Alex Wassell, a Chrysler employee who was fired after helping to organize a recent protest outside a plant in Warren, Mich.
DETROIT, Mich. — With auto sales in Europe stalled, Fiat (IW 1000/48) is pushing Chrysler to boost production at key U.S. plants over the opposition of blue-collar workers who don't like the new work schedules.
Less than four years after Chrysler was saved from certain death by a government-backed bankruptcy and steered back to profitability by Fiat, a growing number of workers are complaining that they are being asked to sacrifice once again.
But they're not getting a lot of support from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which negotiated the changes with Chrysler as part of a more flexible contract aimed at improving competitiveness.
The switch to four 10-hour days instead of five eight-hour days means less overtime pay, a shifting schedule and the regular loss of their Saturdays.
"It's terrible for workers," said Alex Wassell, a Chrysler employee who was fired after helping to organize a recent protest outside a plant in Warren, Mich. that builds the popular Ram pickup truck.
"It makes child care more difficult, and makes it impossible for a lot of workers to attend school activities, and eliminates weekends with your family," Wassell said.
"It's not a good situation for many workers. One of every three workers will have to work Saturdays indefinitely."
Chrysler said it has altered work schedules -- and hired 8,000 new hourly employees since emerging from bankruptcy in June 2009 -- to keep pace with growing demand for the company's vehicles.
