Toledo Blade (10/20/15) Tyrel Linkhorn

Unionized employees of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles began voting on Oct. 20 on a tentative labor contract. There is uncertainty about the number of jobs the automaker has promised to protect at the Toledo Assembly Complex. Fiat Chrysler employs approximately 5,000 workers at the plant. About 1,000 of those workers are classified as temporary part-time employees. The complex also has another 1,000 employees who work for Kuka and Mobis, which are on-site parts suppliers.

The contract proposal that company and union negotiators agreed to this month includes a commitment to maintain the current workforce and contains a provision to include “positions associated with Kuka and Mobis.” Temporary workers, however, are not mentioned. While temporary part-time employees are not meant to be needed long term, the Toledo plant is unique in that nearly one in five Fiat Chrysler employees is classified as temporary. Nearly half of the company’s overall temporary part-time employees work in Toledo. United Automobile Workers officials and local union officials have yet to comment on whether those 1,000 temporary positions would be preserved.