UAW won’t renegotiate after Ford deal fails

[rickaren]

UAW won’t renegotiate after Ford deal fails

Posted Tuesday, Nov 3, 2009, 4:28 pm in Employee News

The United Auto Workers said Monday it will not return to the bargaining table with Ford Motor Co. to renegotiate concessions that were soundly rejected by a majority of 41,000 Ford workers, The Detroit News reported.

The official tally released Monday by the UAW showed 70 percent of production workers and 75 percent of skilled trades workers voted against the proposed changes, the paper said. “The ratification process proves once again that the membership is the highest authority in our union, and we are respectful of the final outcome,” said a statement issued by UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Vice President Bob King, who heads the UAW’s Ford unit. They had urged approval, the News said. Ford issued a statement saying it was “disappointed.”

Ford workers who voted no say the automaker, which posted a third-quarter profit of nearly $1 billion Monday, is faring better than General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC, and doesn’t need the same concessions, the paper said.

Ford workers were angered by a proposal to limit the union’s right to strike over pay and benefit increases in the next round of national contract talks in 2011, the News said. Workers at GM and Chrysler approved a much broader “no strike” clause during the automakers’ government-mandated reorganizations this year, the paper said.

Ford and the UAW leadership said they will continue to look for ways to ensure Ford remains competitive, the story said. (The Detroit News)

[rickaren]

Gettelfinger: We didn’t sell Ford deal well

Posted on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 3:23 PM EST. (Employee News)

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, in an interview with Fox Business, acknowledged that UAW members were fatigued from ratifying prior agreements and that UAW leadership didn’t effectively sell a proposal that was overwhelmingly rejected by members over the past two weeks, the Detroit Free Press reported.

“We just did not do a good job of selling it to our membership,” Gettelfinger told the network. “We underestimated the fatigue, if you will, of the people constantly having to make a decision on a contract.” On Monday, the UAW announced that 70 percent of Ford’s production workers and 75 percent of Ford’s skilled trades workers voted against the proposal to modify the union’s labor agreement with Ford, the paper said.

It was the fifth time in five years that Ford’s 41,000 UAW workers had to vote on a national agreement or modifications to an agreement with concessions, the Free Press noted. Ford was asking UAW members to approve a deal that included a limited no-strike clause, a wage freeze for entry-level workers and a consolidation of skilled trades classifications, the paper said. The agreement had the endorsement of the UAW’s top leadership, as well as Gettelfinger, because it would have created or preserved 7,000 jobs, the story said. (Detroit Free Press)