Multi-National Corporation, International Union and International Collective Bargaining: A Case Study of the Political, Social, and Economic Implications of the 1967 U.A.W.-Chrysler Agreement

In 1970 representatives of the United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (U.A.W.) will sit down with Chrysler Corporation personnel to hammer out a master agreement which will cover workers in Canada and the United States. Should a strike be called by the union, Chrysler workers in Canada and the United States will walk off the job, effectively closing down the corporation’s productive facilities. Furthermore, upon reaching an agreement, the proposed contract will be voted upon by all the Chrysler-U.A.W. members in the United States and Canada. If a majority of the workers, regardless of nationality, accept the agreement, then a new master contract, governing corporate and employee relations, will have been reached, and the many U.A.W. locals can proceed to bargain with plant representatives about various local issues. The important point is that for the first time in the crucial automobile industry true international collective bargaining will have occurred. The Canadian and United States Chrysler workers will have been treated as one group with no distinctions corresponding to political boundaries.