UAW appears poised to pass new contract with Fiat Chrysler

DETROIT (AP) – The United Auto Workers union appears likely to approve a new four-year contract with Fiat Chrysler.

Official vote totals aren’t expected until later Thursday, but workers at several factories have overwhelmingly voted for the deal.

It’s the second time in a month that Fiat Chrysler’s 40,000 union members voted on a contract. A previous deal was soundly rejected largely because it didn’t eliminate a much-hated two-tiered pay system.

A union local in Belvidere, Illinois, with 4,200 workers voted 81 percent in favor of the new deal, according to its website. Eighty-four percent of production workers at a stamping plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan, also voted yes.

The new agreement gives raises to all workers and eliminates the two tiers over eight years.