DETROIT – United Auto Workers-Ford Vice President Rory Gamble has been selected as acting UAW national president Saturday, and on Monday he begins talks with Fiat-Chrysler.
“The city of Detroit needs to make people not only in the city, but in Lansing, who are going to keep the best interests of this city at heart,” Gamble said.
This comes after former union president Gary Jones’ Canton home was raided by the FBI in August, which was followed by embezzlement charges against St. Louis Region 5 Director Vance Pearson and Edward “Nick” Robinson, both close associates of Jones.
READ MORE: UAW official Edward ‘Nick’ Robinson charged in labor conspiracy
Gamble, who has been politically active with the union for 38 years, was elected UAW-Ford president in 2018 and has since been involved in the negotiations of hundreds of union contracts.
National negotiations with Fiat-Chrysler is no small feat, said Center for Automotive Research analyst Kristin Dziczek.
“This was a very expensive contract (with) GM and Ford,” she said. “Chrysler just posted earnings and had very strong earning in the third quarter, but it’s still going to be tough for them to take all of these costs — especially equalizing in progression workers.”
Approximately 13% of Chrysler’s employees are in the in-progression and temporary category, likely to become a challenge at the bargaining table. The merger with French automaker Peugeot could also prove challenging down the road.
WATCH BELOW: Aerial video of FBI agents raiding Canton home of UAW President Gary Jones