Thread: Chrysler Ditches Americans, Goes With Indian Bodyshop

Two articles, first, what we saw over here, then the 'rest of the story' - what was really happening all along:

Chrysler tech center workers may have lost jobs to H-1B contractors, union claims
Automaker says visa holders aren't doing work previously done by laid-off union members
By Patrick Thibodeau

February 15, 2008 (Computerworld) Karen Trevaski worked at Chrylser LLC's technical center in Auburn Hills, Mich., until she was laid off two weeks ago along with 119 other employees. But Trevaski claims that foreign workers with H-1B visas remain on the job at Chrysler, using software systems similar to the one she used to design automotive parts.

Moreover, Trevaski believes that the H-1B workers were encouraged to learn a new version of Dassault Systèmes SA's Catia software, while she was not. "We had to fight to get V5 training," Trevaski said this week. "And the H-1B workers — they were just sending them for the training. That's why I'm angry — it's just totally wrong. It seems as if they just want to get rid of union people."

United Auto Workers Local 412, which represents the laid-off tech workers, is considering whether it should file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, according to Walt Atkins, the local's first vice president.

"Why," Atkins asked, "have they got these people over here from another country, taking up American jobs, and [then] laying off American workers?" He said that there may be as many as 150 H-1B visa holders working for contractors in the technical center at Chrysler.

Chrysler spokeswoman Michelle Tinson said that the company has contract employees "in a variety of nonbargaining-unit positions, including managerial, engineering and other highly technical roles."

But Tinson said UAW members such as Trevaski may be mistaken in their belief that the contract workers are doing work that is similar to the work they did at the company. "We're not aware of any contract employee being used to perform traditional bargaining unit work," Tinson said. "If any such cases are brought to our attention, we will investigate and make corrections as appropriate."

In January, just prior to the recent layoffs at the technical center, Chrysler said it was forming a new design team and expanding its engineering activities overseas. At the time, The Detroit News reported that union officials were concerned about the outsourcing of jobs to other countries.

However, Tinson said that the most recent layoffs were part of an overall workforce reduction and weren't related to the overseas engineering expansion plan. Last February, the company said it would lay off 13,000 employees over a three-year period, and it added 4,000 more workers to the reduction plan in November.

Tinson added that Chrysler has reduced its contract labor workforce by 37%, or about 2,000 people, over the past year. "It's not as if the contract employees are not being affected with layoffs," she said.

Scott Watkins, a consultant at Anderson Economic Group LLC in East Lansing, Mich., said product design workers such as Trevaski aren't necessarily more vulnerable to layoffs than anyone else who works in the U.S. auto industry, because of the shrinking market share of automakers based here.

"Right now, I think everybody in the domestic automotive industry is vulnerable," Watkins said. "The vulnerability isn't necessarily related to a certain occupation or skill set. It's an industrywide vulnerability."

Watkins did say that Chrysler workers may have lost some clout after German-based automaker Daimler AG sold Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management in August, bringing the U.S. company under private ownership.

http://www.computerworld.com/action/art ... Id=9063099

[quote]TCS wins $120 mn deal from Chrysler

AGENCIES[ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2008 03:53:48 PM]

MUMBAI: India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services said that it has bagged a multi-year deal from US-based auto maker Chrysler LLC for providing a comprehensive portfolio of IT services.


The company did not disclose the value of the deal, however, according to the media reports the deal is worth $120 million.

TCS would deliver application maintenance and support services to Chrysler. The IT services initiative would encompass a portion of the functional areas within Chrysler, such as sales and marketing and shared services, the company said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

“This growing trusted partnership is a testament to TCS’ competencies and capabilities which continue to help the customer in its business transformation by providing innovative IT services scalable to their needs,â€

I am no longer as surprised by such greed as I was a couple of years ago. What is so frustrating is that there is nothing we can do about it except boycott Chrysler. This would only put more American auto workers out of work. Anyone have any suggestions as to how we can stop the flow of American jobs overseas?

More Lies More Jobs sent over-seas . This smells of a pure setup against the American worker . And the Union is Puzzled ??? What don't you get Union leaders ??

Well here's the irony...isn't Chrysler the one that the government, via American taxpayer money, was bailed out some years back? How's that for gratitude?

Union organizations need to get their act together. Some, such as this Local, rightly complain when their members are shut out of work that they could do. But other unions--not necessarily in the same industry--are quick to sign in new members from the illegal alien population even when their own members are going to be scrambling for fewer and fewer jobs as the American economy weakens. The Teamsters are a good case in point: They protest Mexican trucks and drivers entering the US but will sign up illegal aliens into their locals.

The AFL CIO has been quite overt about their willingness to "insource" traditional American jobs to what they call "immigrant workers." AFL CIO in conjunction with the ACLU has been leading the charge against DHS no-match letters:
http://www.aflcio.org/issues/civilrights/immigration/

The Change to Win coalition, which includes the Teamsters and six other national unions, also includes the heavily immigrant Service Employees International Union. SEIU even holds bilingual rallies in a number of cities.
http://www.changetowin.org/issues/worke ... ights.html

I wish I had ideas for Local 412, UAW. If American union members don't act soon enough both against outsourcing and insourcing, they will find themselves on the outside of the middle class looking in. The union bosses see the dollars coming into their coffers--not so much the individuals who pay their dues. Perhaps union members getting out and protesting against their own leaders would spur action.

Disgusting

somebody in this board was very confident that with re's appreciation Indian outsourcers will be hurting.

recession in America favors outsourcing..it did the last time around. dollar has to tank to itz real value like 100% not 10% to save our jobs.

btw dont forget chrysler is not an American company..by 2010 GM will be the only big American auto maker. Ford will bought over by european automkers.

our greed for cheap goods we could not afford in the first place has sent all our dollars to foreign hands.

union interference will make chrysler move more jobs out of US. only thing which will make them understand is if sales takes a beating.

which is not going to happen because half the traitors in this board drive non american cars with one pretext or the other.