Fresh off a two-day strike at General Motors Corp, the United Auto Workers union has set a Wednesday strike deadline for contract negotiations with Chrysler LLC, sources close to the negotiations told AFP Monday.
The union will not necessarily walk off the job if an agreement is not reached by the deadline of 11 a.m. (1500 GMT) Wednesday, the source said.
Negotiations could be extended on an hourly or daily basis.
“I think they're close to an agreement but they want to move things along,” the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
The UAW is using a landmark agreement reached with GM as a framework for negotiations with Chrysler.
It is expected to announce on Wednesday whether that contract has been ratified by members.
But officials at Chrysler have said the company's new owner, private equity group Cerberus Capital Management, does not want to pay the cost of transferring the administration of retiree health care to the union.
That deal is expected to save GM billions in the long run, but Chrysler has far fewer retirees to deal with and stands to save less in the long-term.
Chrysler officials have, however, been pushing the union to grant them the same health care concessions given to struggling GM and Ford Motor Company last year in which the automakers saved billions by having workers pay for part of their health insurance, the source told AFP Monday.
Robert Nardelli, Chrysler's new chief executive officer, has also said he would like to sell off some of the company's assets such as an in-house trucking company and Chrysler's parts warehouses.
Chrysler last week temporarily idled production at several US plants in order to deal with weakened demand for its products.
The union will turn its attention to Ford when it concludes its negotiations with Chrysler.
While Ford would benefit significantly from the same kind of health-care deal offered to GM, it could balk at the kind of job security concessions offered by its rival.
Ford plans to build a new generation of small cars at a brand new plant in northern Mexico, a point of contention with the union.
