It's a Jungle Out There

A strike at Chrysler raises worries in a booming but concerned industry

It was not much of a birthday present for Lee Iacocca, Chrysler's celebrated chairman, best-selling author, television pitchman and, now, syndicated newspaper columnist. He turned 61 on Oct. 15, and less than 24 hours later some 70,000 American and 10,000 Canadian members of the United Auto Workers walked off their jobs at Chrysler. It was the company's first major U.S. strike since 1973.

The top demand by Chrysler employees was wage-and-benefit compensation comparable with that of their counterparts at Ford and GM. When Chrysler teetered on the edge of bankruptcy in 1979 and 1980, unions made concessions worth approximately $1 billion....

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