New contracts at
Allison, Volvo, Chrysler Financial

In other UAW contract news:

Allison Transmission

UAW members at Allison Transmission overwhelmingly ratified a new contract May 2. The agreement is the first for UAW members with Allison since GM sold the company in August 2007. The contract covers 2,200 members of UAW Local 83 in Indianapolis. The new pact gives workers a $5,000 signing bonus, 4 percent lump-sum payments in the first, third and fourth years, and a 5-percent increase in the second year of the contract. It also protects members from wage reductions, cuts in benefits or loss of seniority rights for current workers.

Volvo Trucks

UAW workers at Volvo Trucks overwhelmingly approved a new contract March 15 for hourly and salaried workers at the New River Valley, Va., plant, with 93 percent in favor of ratification. The new three-year pact covers 2,600 members of UAW Local 2069. The agreement also includes a $2,000 lump-sum payout now and 2 percent wage increases in the second and third years of the agreement. In addition, workers won increased vision and hearing benefits, and protected recall rights for UAW members for the life of the agreement.

Also, workers achieved strong and decisive language on cadmium, ergonomics and hazardous fluids. The new contract provides improved sampling protocols for all chemicals and improved ventilation to protect UAW members from welding fume and chemicals that lead to asthma. UAW Local 2069 members, forced out on strike Feb.1, returned to work March 24.

"The members here really stuck together through it all," said Lester Hancock, Local 2069 president. "We all went back to work, put the strike behind us and we're building great trucks."

Chrysler Financial

UAW workers at Chrysler Financial Services Americas LLC voted 98 percent in favor of a new contract for salaried workers in two financial units. The agreement, ratified Feb. 23, covers 341 salaried workers, including accountants, accounting clerks and customer service representatives. It is the first contract with Chrysler Financial Services as a separate company from Chrysler LLC.

The contract includes a $3,000 settlement bonus and a Christmas bonus of up to $600 for eligible workers, who also will receive annual bonuses of 3 percent in 2008 and 4 percent in 2009 and 2010. Pension and health care benefits packages are identical to those in the 2007 UAW Chrysler LLC National Agreement.