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The U.A. W. to Chrysler: No

The grinding U.S. recession has this year forced labor unions to make a long string of concessions to employers on wages and work rules. But last week Chrysler workers were saying they deserved more, not less. With the balloting half over, members of the United Auto Workers were rejecting a new contract with Chrysler Corp. by a lopsided 50% margin. Although the voting does not formally end until this week, union officials privately conceded that the one-year package covering some 50,000 Chrysler employees was dead.

The agreement, which negotiators reached on Sept. 16, was turned down...