Bitter outcome of UAW contract betrayal: Chrysler to cut 12,000 more jobs

The announcement, just five days after Chrysler workers narrowly approved a new four-year labor agreement, exposes the lies of the United Auto Workers union, which rammed through the contract by claiming it had won "unprecedented" job protections.

The layoff announcement underscores the catastrophic implications for auto workers of the betrayal carried out by the UAW. Not only does the new contract impose a 50 percent cut in wages and gut the benefits of newly hired workers, it signals the collaboration of the union leadership in Cerberus' plans to hive off huge sections of Chrysler and sell the remnant to the highest bidder—reaping billions in profits for Cerberus' Wall Street managers and wealthy investors by devastating tens of thousands of auto workers, their families and entire working class communities.

Thursday's job cuts are in addition to the 11,000 the company announced last February. The combined total will slash the unionized workforce in the US over the next two years to around 35,000, a 41 percent reduction.

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Workers must organize now to defeat this betrayal and unite all auto workers—at Ford, GM and Chrysler—to defend their jobs and living standards. The prerequisite for any such struggle is a break with the UAW and the organization of rank-and-file committees—entirely independent of the union and democratically controlled by the workers—to mobilize the working class against the auto companies and unite auto workers in the US, Canada, Mexico and throughout the world.

	Ford, UAW Reach Tentative Contract Deal	Associated Press	Fri Nov 2	0
	Chrysler to Cut Up to 12,000 Jobs	Associated Press	Thu Nov 1	3