"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.
Union Enters the Fight
The protest that cost Wassell his job only attracted between 25 and 50 people, but dozens of other workers either voiced support or gave the demonstrators a thumbs up as they filed into the plant during shift change.
The issue has also been raised repeatedly on social media and during local union meetings in recent months.
Wassell's firing brought the union reluctantly into the fight.
David Edgar, the president of UAW Local 869, would not comment on the dispute but said the union filed a grievance challenging Wassell's dismissal and demanding his immediate re-instatement as the controversy escalated.
Tinson said Wassell was dismissed for violating a prohibition on "engaging in activity constituting or appearing to constitute a conflict with the interest of the company."
A senior UAW official, who asked not to be identified because they didn't have authority to speak with the press, said the union's current contract with Chrysler allows the company to utilize alternative work schedules to meet production demands.
"Chrysler's within its rights," the official said.
Up until now, the UAW has played down discontent and had worked to defuse similar protests last year at Chrysler plants in Trenton, Mich. and Kokomo, Ind.
The union has become less confrontational and more cooperative since the deep economic downturn of 2008 nearly brought down the U.S. automotive industry, said Sean McAlinden, of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"They would rather see the companies add jobs now," he said.
Joseph Szczesny, AFP
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2013
