Chrysler LLC management appeals directly to workforce in 11th Hour letter

In a letter today to Chrysler LLC employees, chief executive Bob Nardelli and president Tom LaSorda are appealing to the workforce to consider the future of Chrysler in Canada.

“The clock is running. Without labour concessions, Chrysler Canada’s manufacturing operations will not survive long-term,”

“Let me be clear, our negotiations are about saving Chrysler Canada.  We are coming down to the wire in the fight for our company’s survival – and we need your support.”

It’s unusual for companies to bypass organized labour leadership and appeal directly to the workforce. It flies in the face of precedent when negotiating deals or settlements. Only in times of dire need or when the situation is so grim and no progress is being made with the Union Leadership have I ever seen a direct appeal to the workers to take control of their own futures.

Make no mistake. Chrysler values it’s operations in Canada. I seriously doubt that was honestly ever in question. Seeing that Ken Lewenza and his ilk are not acting in the best interests of the company or those they are supposed to represent, they are taking their case “to the people” as it were.

I’m certain we’ll hear something angry and red-faced from Ken Lewenza very shortly.

I certainly appreciate the 11th Hour plea to the workers, but I suspect that it may just be a case of ‘too little, too late’.  The workers will need to organize on their own, communicate with one another and likely fight their own union in order to accomplish anything. And that takes time. More time than they have I think, but I suppose we’ll see what happens.

However, should Chrysler fail and withdraw it’s Canadian operation in order to make a deal with Fiat to survive (and that too is a very real possibility) CAW members might really want to make an excruciatingly detailed examination of the actions and performance of their so-called Leadership, because it will have been a spectacular failure on their part to act in the best interests of it’s membership.

—————————-Update April 18th, 2009—————————-

BTW, for the record, I’m predicting that the CAW will refuse to meet the demands of the Government, Chrysler and Fiat. They may give a little more, but not enough. In order to salvage a deal with Fiat (who’s sub-compact car technology Chrysler needs to survive), Chrysler will announce that it is pulling out of Canada directly as a result of the failures of the CAW to behave as a fully participating member in a solution so that a merger with Fiat can proceed and save the jobs of the UAW workers who will ultimately make the needed concessions.