DETROIT – Thousands of Chrysler LLC autoworkers started to walk off the job Wednesday after the automaker and the United Auto Workers union failed to settle on a tentative contract agreement before a union-imposed deadline.
It would be the first UAW strike against Chrysler since 1997, when one plant was shut down for a month, and the first strike against Chrysler during contract talks since 1985. There was no immediate official word from the union or Chrysler on whether it was a nationwide strike.
In Indiana, Chrysler operates three transmission plants and a casting factory, all in Kokomo, that have about 6,000 workers.
The UAW, which must reach new four-year agreements with all three Detroit automakers, struck General Motors Corp. for two days before agreeing on a tentative pact with the automaker on Set. 26. The union hasn't yet settled with Ford Motor Co.
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