UAW and Fiat Chrysler reach tentative agreement

DETROIT - Roughly eight hours after the deadline, the two sides came together.
They said what made this tentative contract possible was honesty. No one held a grudge for too long, and talks never stalled. After that it was all smiles.

There was a celebration inside the Chrysler Training Center in downtown Detroit. The top negotiators for both the automakers and the UAW have a history, and it showed Tuesday night.

"The UAW can strongly disagree and so can the other side, but we get up and continue discussions," said Dennis Williams, UAW President.

In other words, these talks didn't drag on due to egos or bitterness. They called the months of collective bargaining balanced and competitive.

When asked, "Do you respect today more than you did when you started?" Sergio Marchionne, Fiat Chrysler CEO responded, "Usually the answer is ‘no’ and in this particular case the answer is ‘yes.’"

As Fox 2 first told you, some of the main sticking points revolved around a two tiered pay structure for UAW workers. While not divulging any specifics on the new contract, we were told in respect to two tier pay, "That issue will go away over time," said Marchionne.

Again, details were limited, but both sides say they were satisfied when it comes to pay and health care costs. They also took a hard look at the bigger economic picture facing the country.

"Many people have a lot of wealth. If you don't share it you cannot have a strong society and it's about balance," said Williams

A balance has now been struck - at least between this negotiating team - as they happily look to a future without a picket-line on the horizon.

"I want to thank Dennis for getting us here and I look forward to the next four years," said Marchionne.

Now that these talks are through, the CEO of Fiat Chrysler says he's going to get back to the production side of things, and let the UAW work on getting everyone on the same page regarding the contract.