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Carrier refutes offer of $5.85/hour to stay

<p>Union says United Technologies told them that Carrier might stay if workers took pay cut to $5.85 an hour</p>
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INDIANAPOLIS -- Carrier contemplated staying in Indianapolis, but it would have come at a great cost to its workers.

Carrier decided in February to move 1,400 Indianapolis jobs (2,100 in total) to Monterrey, Mexico. 

Following that announcement, representatives from the United Steelworkers Union and United Technologies, which owns Carrier, met for negotiations.
 
Call 6 Investigates found out that during those talks Carrier apparently told the union they could possibly stay if the workers agreed to cut their pay from about $23 an hour to $5.85 an hour.

Carrier is supposed to save about $65 million a year when it moves to Mexico in 2017.

WATCH MORE IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE

Hundreds of people attended a rally Friday at the statehouse protesting Carrier's decision.
 
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders told the crowd that bad international trade policies are enabling corporations to shut down American factories and move work to countries with lower wages.
Sanders said that corporate decisions such as Carrier's are hurting the country's middle class.

United Technology and Carrier have repaid the City of Indianapolis $1.2 million the company received in tax breaks.

Mayor Joe Hogsett made the announcement on April 7.  On March 3, Hogsett had called on Carrier to return the $1.2 million within 30 days.

The mayor says the money will be used to retrain Carrier workers.

RTV6 has been covering the story from the moment in broke with a viral video of the announcement to the employees of Indy's plant.

Call 6 Investigates reached out to Carrier spokeswoman Michelle Caldwell for a response to the union's claims. She issued the following statement Friday night:

"We are disappointed the union has apparently chosen to negotiate through the media, rather than engage in productive discussions with us. The company never suggested our employees should work for $5.85. The union was told that to achieve the $65 million in annual savings resulting from the relocation, the average hourly wage rate would need to be $5.85 per hour. That is not possible and shows why the company believes the union cannot offer concessions sufficient to change the company's intent to relocate. That’s why it’s time for the union to return to the table to talk about what’s important now, reaching an agreement that provides clarity and certainty for our employees during the transition."

You can watch Episodes 1 and 2 of our digital exclusive Carrier documentary series below.

FULL COVERAGE: TIMELINE: Carrier to ship 1,400 jobs from Indiana to Mexico |  Hogsett calls on Carrier to return $1.2M within 30 days | Coats, Donnelly have 'disappointing' meeting with Carrier execs | IEDC responds to Sen. Donnelly's comments on Carrier |  Sen. Donnelly: Carrier never cited federal regulations as reason for move | Union president: 'We're not going away quietly' | Carrier employees protest move at statehouse| Pence on Carrier meeting: 'I don't want to create any false hope for people'| Moving to Mexico: What you need to know about Monterrey, Mexico | Moving to Mexico: On the ground in Monterrey, Mexico, where Carrier is moving Trump weights in on Carrier relocation to Mexico  | Carrier: Company did not receive $5M in federal stimulus funds  | President of United Steelworkers Union: No hope of saving 1,400 jobs  | Carrier employees, local businesses reel after announcement of move to Mexico  |WATCH: Employees react to news that Carrier is moving from Indy to Mexico  | Pence to review Carrier's plans to move to Mexico  |TRUMP: Carrier should be taxed for their goods after move to Mexico  | Hogsett, Donnelly meet with Carrier workers  | City, state stepping in to help Carrier employees |Indiana leaders ask Carrier for a meeting to try to keep the plant, jobs in the state

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