The union said it would pursue separate talks with the senior managements of all three carmakers pending a decision on whether to pick one company next week as its focus for negotiations.
Stephen Yokich, the UAW president, indicated the mood in industrial relations had become less confrontational in recent years and said the decision not to select a strike target reflected that altered mood.
However, the union did not preclude reverting to its traditional wage negotiating method, whereby it targets one manufacturer for intense talks prior to the expiry of the industry's three-year pay and conditions agreement on September 14. The agreement reached with the selected car company then sets the framework for arrangements with the other two. The UAW's move caused considerable surprise in the industry, which had been expecting it to announce it had chosen Chrysler, the smallest but most profitable of the Big Three, as target for the next three-year deal. The union chooses the manufacturer it believes will be most inclined to agree to its demands. Observers said the move represented a potential change in industrial relations in the motor industry as the UAW and the carmakers move to a more consensual style of negotiation.
Financial Times
It's difficult to interpret at this point, said Tony Cervone, a Chrysler official.
But Yokich said: It's good common, honest sense if you've got three companies that are moving along in their negotiations and these three companies want to reach agreement, you don't stop them, you go with them.
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He said the decision to put off selecting a target was taken so as not to obstruct progress being made in the talks. He said negotiations had been advancing at their strongest pace in years.
Low-level bargaining has been under way between union representatives and the negotiators from the Big Three since early June.
UAW officials declined to say what their main objectives would be in the next pay round. However, it is widely believed the union will stress job and income security. One of the focal points is expected to be the issue of outsourcing, whereby carmakers are increasingly contracting out to cheaper suppliers. This year, the UAW launched a 17 day strike at a General Motors brakes plant in Ohio over plans to buy braking units from an outside supplier.