Ford: tentative agreement

[rickaren]

Gettelfinger: We got a good deal for workers

Posted Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009, 11:23 am in Employee News

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said Tuesday that a tentative agreement that the union reached with Ford is a good deal because the automaker agreed to pay workers onetime $1,000 bonuses and it made extensive job and product commitments at U.S. plants, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Ford has sought modifications to its UAW labor contract ever since General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC won advantageous provisions in their contracts on the eve of their bankruptcies this spring, the paper said. But Ford workers have said they were reluctant to ratify more concessions because Ford has been gaining market share and its financial outlook has improved, the Free Press noted. What’s more, they already approved contract changes in March that were to save Ford about $500 million a year, the story said.

Ford, however, has argued that it still faces challenges and needed more flexibility, the paper noted. “Ford does have more debt on their balance sheet,” Gettelfinger said. “So they were at a bit of a disadvantage. We want Ford to be successful.” Ford’s more than 41,000 UAW-represented workers are expected to vote on the deal in the days ahead, the story said. (Detroit Free Press)