Welcome to the Corvette Forums at the Corvette Action Center!

Ford is most vulnerable without strike ban as UAW talks open

Joined
May 29, 2002
Messages
8,688
Location
Missoura Ozarks
Corvette
2012 💯 4LT GS Roadster
DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co., the most profitable U.S. carmaker, heads into contract talks with the UAW next week in the worst position among the three U.S. automakers.

Because Ford didn't take a government bailout, it lacks two weapons rivals have: binding arbitration and a ban on strikes.

As part of U.S.-backed bankruptcies in 2009, workers at General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC agreed not to strike over wages and benefits during these contract talks and to take unsettled disputes from the bargaining table to arbitration.

Workers at Ford went against the wishes of union leaders and rejected the strike ban and arbitration, so Ford is the only U.S. automaker that faces the threat of a strike.

"There's no doubt that Ford would be better off if they had binding arbitration," said Kristin Dziczek, a labor analyst at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. "Ratifying a deal at Ford is a bit more dicey than the other two because they've proven they'll turn down an agreement."

The union usually picks one automaker to create a deal it uses as a template with the other two. This pattern bargaining has kept wages and benefits close to parity among the three automakers, which now employ about 113,000 U.S. hourly workers.

This time, the parity could be disrupted: With Ford earning $9.3 billion in the last two years, workers there may hesitate to accept an agreement crafted at GM or Chrysler or by an arbitrator for those companies.

www.an.com
 
Voting to go on strike in this economy is like asking to be fired. Ford may actually be ok with a strike vote as it would give them a solid reason to move their labor force. We'll see how smart the American Union work force really is. Either way, hopefully it works out good for them.
 

Corvette Forums

Not a member of the Corvette Action Center?  Join now!  It's free!

Help support the Corvette Action Center!

Supporting Vendors

Dealers:

MacMulkin Chevrolet - The Second Largest Corvette Dealer in the Country!

Advertise with the Corvette Action Center!

Double Your Chances!

Our Partners

Back
Top Bottom