May 7,2008  From Aurto News

May 7--Chrysler LLC has not given any indication to the Canadian Auto Workers that it will be unable to meet the terms of a deal the union won from larger rival Ford Motor Co., the CAW said on Tuesday in a statement. 
     
Representatives of the union and Chrysler executives met on Tuesday, two days after union members ratified a new contract with Ford. 
     
"Chrysler made no commitment to begin early negotiations with the union, but did not indicate they would be unable to meet the pattern established last week at Ford," the union said. "The CAW remains optimistic that negotiations with Chrysler will begin shortly." 
     
A Chrysler spokeswoman confirmed that the two sides had met, and would meet this week, but declined further comment. 
     
"All we’ve confirmed is that we are meeting with them this week and that we are basically proceeding ... with them behind closed doors," spokeswoman Mary Beth Halprin said. 
     
The privately held automaker, now owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, employs about 8,000 CAW members and assembles its Chrysler and Dodge minivans in Ontario. 
     
Last week, Chrysler President Tom LaSorda was quoted as casting some doubt on whether Chrysler would be able to meet the terms of the Ford deal with the Canadian union. 
     
"We have to be competitive," LaSorda told the Detroit Free Press. "And I’m not so sure the Ford deal was very competitive." 
     
About 9,000 CAW workers on Sunday ratified a three-year contract with Ford that the No. 2 U.S. automaker said would impro ve financial returns on its Canadian facilities that include two assembly plants. 
     
The Ford contract delayed the closing of a Ford assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, where workers build the Crown Victoria and Mercury Grand Marquis sedans. 
     
Union workers also agreed to freeze wages, to give up a week of vacation and to change work rules in order to squeeze another 30 minutes of daily production from Ford’s plant in Oakville, Ontario. 
     
That plant builds Ford’s popular Edge and MKX crossovers and is scheduled to begin production of Ford’s new Flex crossover wagon this year. 
     
Ford also pledged to shift a fourth, unnamed vehicle program to Oakville, according to a person familiar with the deal. The automaker has declined to comment on that aspect of the agreement. 
     
Ford and the CAW headed by President Buzz Hargrove reached the contract deal nearly five months before the automaker’s current contract expires. Hargrove has said he expected the Ford contract to serve as a model for General Motors and Chrysler. 
     
The CAW and GM are scheduled to begin contract talks on Thursday.

Editor: Haijing Qu