Just days after Fiat Chrysler autoworkers soundly rejected a contract proposal, union negotiators reached a new deal with the company that would give entry-level workers larger raises, effectively providing them a path to equal pay with longtime employees, The New York Times reported yesterday. The proposed four-year deal, announced just after a strike deadline, would shrink the gap in wages between veteran workers and the entry-level employees who make up more than 40 percent of the company’s hourly work force. The agreement increases the highest wage for entry-level employees to $29 an hour from $19 — a significant gain over the top wage of $25 proposed in the rejected deal — on par with veteran workers who will be making just less than $30 an hour by the end of the contract. Details of the agreement were not released by the United Automobile Workers union of Fiat Chrysler.
