After months of speculation, the Chrysler sale happened without too much fanfare on Monday morning, as Cerberus came out as the top bidder, and several potential investors came away empty-handed. One of the few groups vying for control of Chrysler was its own employees, and Automotive News is reporting that those UAW members feel they never got a real chance.

Members of Toledo's Jeep plant tried to get together a bid for the beleaguered Chrysler group, but they felt as though the folks in Stuttgart and Auburn Hills stalled in order to keep the workers at bay. The members were also angered by Ron Gettlefinger's comments that the sale to Cerberus was "in the best interest of the membership" only a few weeks after stating that the UAW was opposed to any sale to a private equity group. President of the Chrysler Employee Buyout Committee (CEBC) Michele Mauder also criticized Daimler for basically paying $650 million to get out from under Chrysler's liabilities. CEBC claims that they aren't as upset by the fact that they didn't win the right to purchase Chrysler as they were that they never got a fair chance to bid.

[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd]

In the end, we have a hard time imagining a scenario where the UAW would come away with ownership of the Chrysler group. White collar employees wouldn't want to be a part of a company where the union had 100% control, and few companies would invest capital in another company that would be more interested in jobs than profits.