Chrysler Corp.'s bland announcement last week that it was dropping five of its 18 directors in order to "improve efficiency and effectiveness as well as reduce cost" didn't fool industry observers. The unusual pedigree of one of those directors -- Owen Bieber, president of the United Auto Workers union -- signaled other, less technocratic motives. Most bets are that the willful U.A.W. boss, a board member since 1984, was dropped because of his frequent opposition to management, led by its equally willful chairman, Lee Iacocca. "There were a lot of 17-to-1 votes," Bieber said last week.
There was also more than...
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