Ford Motor Co workers have overwhelmingly rejected contract changes that would have allowed the automaker to cut labor costs, leaving Ford at a disadvantage to its Detroit rivals as it continues its struggle to return to profitability.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union had given local unions until today to complete voting. But a person briefed on the voting said on Saturday that the contract changes have been rejected by large margins. The person asked not to be named because the UAW hadn’t announced the results yet.
The UAW and Ford agreed to the contract changes several weeks ago, but Ford workers needed to ratify them. Ford has 41,000 UAW-represented workers.
Two large union locals in Kentucky and Ford’s home city of Dearborn, Michigan, rejected the contract on Friday, sealing its fate.
VETO
Those unions together represent 13,000 Ford workers. Exact tallies weren’t available, but at least 12 UAW locals representing about 27,500 workers so far have vetoed the deal, many overwhelmingly.
Only about four locals with a total of 7,000 members favored the pact.
Ford sought the deal to bring its labor costs in line with Detroit rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co, both of which won concessions from the union as they headed into bankruptcy protection earlier this year. Under pattern bargaining, the three automakers usually match pay, benefits and other contract provisions.
But workers weren’t convinced they should make more concessions, since Ford avoided bankruptcy and is considered healthier than its rivals. At least two Wall Street analysts were predicting that Ford could report a profit today when it announces third-quarter earnings.
Rocky Comito, president of UAW Local 862 in Louisville, Kentucky, said on Friday that workers felt they were being asked to sacrifice more than the company’s executives. Ford CEO Alan Mulally made US$17.7 million last year, although that was down 22 percent from the year before.
“Some want to see management give more at the upper level,” Comito said.
Ford was offering workers a US$1,000 bonus if they ratified the contract. But the contract also would have frozen entry-level pay, changed some work rules and limited workers’ ability to strike.
A message seeking comment was left on Saturday for the UAW. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said on Friday that there wouldn’t be a revote if the contract changes failed.
DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
“If it fails, there would be no reason to go back to the bargaining table,” Gettelfinger said at a community event in Detroit. “We have a democratic process in place. People have a right to express themselves. We recognize there’s a lot of misinformation about it out there, but that is what it is.”
Factory-level union leaders have known for several days that the deal would be defeated, said one Detroit-area official who asked not to be identified because the voting was not completed.
The union did a poor job of explaining the need to preserve jobs and keep Ford competitive with GM and Chrysler, the official said.
He doesn’t believe members will approve any more changes until the 2011 contract, which will leave Ford at a disadvantage and has the potential to knock the company from its position as the strongest financially of the Detroit Three.
“Our goal should be to keep Ford Motor Co going in the right direction,” he said.
Gary Chaison, a professor of labor relations at Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, said the vote was a slap to UAW leadership. It’s extremely rare for union members to oppose the union’s recommended vote.
Chaison said Ford asked for too much too soon after workers already agreed to concessions earlier this year. He also said Ford lacked credibility because its financial situation wasn’t as dire as GM’s or Chrysler’s.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS