Detroit (WWJ/AP) -- Autoworkers in Michigan and Missouri overwhelmingly rejected a new contract with Ford Motor Co., a sign that the automaker and the United Auto Workers union are having trouble convincing some workers to accept changes that would lower Ford's labor costs.
Workers at plants in Livonia and Plymouth also rejected the changes in recent days, according to Gary Wolkowicz, a member of the UAW bargaining committee at the Dearborn Truck Plant and an outspoken opponent of the changes. The vote at the Sheldon Road plant in Plymouth, which makes climate control systems, was 80 percent opposed, while 52 percent of those voting at the Livonia transmission plant were against the deal.
Meatime, ninety-two percent of workers at the Kansas City Assembly Plant voted against changes to their contract Sunday. The plant, which makes Ford F-150 pickups as well as the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mariner, employs around 3,700 people, or about 9 percent of Ford's 41,000 UAW members.
Ford and the UAW agreed to make changes to their 2007 labor agreement two weeks ago, bringing Ford in line with labor cost cuts already agreed to at General Motors Co. and Chrysler LLC. But workers must ratify the changes for them to go into effect.
Workers would get a $1,000 bonus if the deal is ratified, but the proposal also would freeze entry-level wages and require some skilled-trades workers to do more than one job. The union also agreed not to strike Ford if the two sides disagree on wage or benefit increases, although the UAW could still strike over other issues.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, whose been backing the deal, said that he can understand why some workers feel that Ford doesn't need concessions.
“Sure, Ford's in better shape. We want them to stay in better shape. We want them to survive, to prosper and to grow,” Gettelfinger told WWJ AutoBeat Reporter Jeff Gilbert.
Gettelfinger said that the deal means job security and more work. Many voting no said work promised in the past hasn't always materialized.
“We filled up every assembly plant. That's a strong commitment from Ford. That cascades down and helps our power-train operations, it helps our stamping operations,” Gettelfinger said.
He's also been visiting many Locals, trying to explain a complicated no strike provision in the deal.
“An arbitrator cannot cut wages or benefits. And if Ford proposes any cuts, then we would maintain the right to strike. So, to me, that issue has been blown out of proportion of what it is,” Gettelfinger explained.
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