Ford's 'Way Forward'? Not if the UAW has anything to say about it...
The verdict on Ford's second crack at a turnaround plan this decade are coming in fast and furious from all the
usual suspects, including magazine editors, stockholders, armchair quarterbacks, and of course, the
United Auto Workers.
In fact, the UAW's response came as swiftly as a scorned party's rebuttal after a presidential State of the Union address. Likewise, the response proved equally predictable: They're peeved, and they're not going to go quietly into the unemployment lines:
"The UAW-represented workers affected by today's action are covered by the job security program and all other provisions and protections of the UAW-Ford National Agreement. Our union will rigorously enforce those programs."
Whether the union's actions in the coming months (and 2007's negotiations) will nobly protect their workforce or merely encourage and precipitate its eventual undoing remains to be seen.
Follow the link to read the UAW's complete response.
[Source: Newsday]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
John Kellogg 2:37AM (7/10/2006)
Unions trouble started in the 80's when union members started thinking like big fat rich republicans with there high wages and benifits, they need to start thinking like struggling poor that they are becoming again and put democrats back in. We may have not made some of the gains we wanted but we never lost our labor laws when the democrats were in control, wake up union members!!!!!
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Harvey Henkelman 2:28PM (10/15/2006)
You people are a bunch of fools, saying that labor unions are no longer needed. As long there are people with needs and wants, workers will need protection from big business. Ever heard how Wal*Mart makes employees work off the clock? How would you feel if your employer brought in illegal immigrants to do YOUR job? I see a bunch of ignorance in this country, and if we were to slide into a major economic depression, I feel the American people deserve every bit of it.
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JD 8:28AM (1/24/2006)
Either the UAW goes ALONG with it or they WON'T have any job with Frod pretty soon!
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klaatu 8:31AM (1/24/2006)
Unfortunately, I'd say that the UAW is going to bury GM and Ford faster than some of the capable people (still left) working for these companies will be able to bail out the grave they're standing in.
Stupid me, I thought the UAW was meant to look after the workforce. They're not bright enough to see that the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is a train coming their way fast - Ford and GM are trying to trim down in order to survive.
Within a few short years, we're going to join "Great" Britain in not even having a domestic headquartered auto industry.
I guess if I were Bill Ford, once the UAW start digging in their heels in 2007, I'd go ahead and let the UAW strike. Then, they could stay out on strike for ever while I'd bring in Canadian, Mexican, European and - gasp - Chinese cars.
UAW? Open your eyes. 2/3 of the current jobs are better than NONE of the current jobs. Morons.
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jd 8:34AM (1/24/2006)
FORD!
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Edsel 8:38AM (1/24/2006)
Perhaps the UAW should show the world how to design & manufacture an "innovative and appealing" automobile by investing their billions of collected union dues in a union owned & managed automobile company.
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Steve C. 9:00AM (1/24/2006)
What else would you expect from the UAW? They are as interested in seeing a proper restructuring of Ford as a politician is in reforming Social Security.
In the past the UAW could sit down with management, cut a deal, and everyone walked away happy. The workers made more and Ford kept making money, too.
That game is over.
This time, the UAW needs to recognize that a "win" for Ford (the only acceptable outcome for the future of Ford) can only occur if the workers give up something. There is no real win-win solution in the short term, other than the UAW recognizing that the only possible "win" for the workers is the degree to which most of them still have a job.
It's time to pay the piper for all the excesses of the past 20-25 years. With Social Security, everyone can keep their heads buried in the sand for another 20 years. With Ford, it's now or never.
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Robert Dean 10:00AM (1/24/2006)
To be honest, UAW sees this as a WIN. They didn't have to make any concessions or waste any time negotiating, or striking.
These people need to wake up. . .
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OldCarDog 10:00AM (1/24/2006)
Perhaps the UAW should design a plan of their own. They can call it "The Way Backwards"
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Sgt. Hulka 10:04AM (1/24/2006)
If you are so stupid as to have to work in a job that requires union membership, then I don't think you are going to possess the intelligence to realize that companies who have unions are going the way of the horse buggy industry.
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Pacey 10:23AM (1/24/2006)
I've said it before and I'm saying it again...
Unions were a much needed device for the workers when they were first adopted. The forced companies into making the work place safe and paying a wage that's fair for the job being done. Today, it's an entirely different story...
Unions have since become corrupt, money hungry beasts. They can walk off the job when they aren't happy, yet return when they feel like it. Tell me another job where you can do that. If I walked out, I'd be fired, and someone who wanted the job would be hired in to take my place. Not with the unions. Forklift drivers make 87,000 a year + benifits. They have people who get paid 6 figure salaries to come in and do nothing. I'm sot saying they are lazy, I mean, their job is to DO NOTHING. Just sit. The Job's bank is an absolute joke.
I'm all for getting paid for doing what you do, but YOU WORK AN ASSEMBLY LINE, don't think you should get paid more than the engineers who designed the car when YOUR LINE can't even put it together right!
The unions are going to be the death of the auto industry. They need to get their heads out of the sand and realise that if they don't start making concessions, they might actually have to work for a living.
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Whydrive 10:29AM (1/24/2006)
Sgt Hulka, are you saying that Hollywood and Pro Sports are going to go the way of the horse buggy industry?
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KT 10:40AM (1/24/2006)
These guys never cease to amaze me with their Us against Them attitude. IF they would just agree to pay the healthcare like the rest of us, the number of jobs being loss could be smaller. Why they think they should be different than any other working stiff is beyond me.
The majority these "workers" will still get paid for a couple of years thanks to the JOB bank deal. So, I'm not really sure why they are whining so much. Heck, Ford has agreed to pay them half their salary and up to $15000 tuition if they go to college and get a degree. How many times has a company tried to help it's displaced employees like that (with the same number of potential takers)?
They better get with the program or they will lose more jobs.
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rainking 10:51AM (1/24/2006)
It's just the UAW shooting off at the mouth. Gettlefinger HAS to say that stuff to keep the members happy. Gettlefinger wants one thing, to get re elected. to do that, he has to look tough. behind the scenes, he'll work with ford for the best result. publically he can't do that. it's all just a front. the reality will be much more conciliatory.
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Steve S 10:59AM (1/24/2006)
Its time to start training some new employees and kick the UAW to the curb. Pretty sure you would have plenty of applicants for those jobs. It would slow production down a lot but you would get an influx of ex-UAW employees to help bring it back up to speed.
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bernie 11:30AM (1/24/2006)
#9 - Unions for pro athletes and actors are a joke. What was created to protect the uneducated masses against ruthless business owners is being invoked to protect multi-million dollar salaries of entertainers.
Tell me, WhyDrive, what is the value added function of unions for athletes and movie stars (other than to obstruct steroid testing and pad the pockets of millionaires.)? We're waiting.
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bernie 11:34AM (1/24/2006)
Check that - I was addressing #10 in my previous post.
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Whydrive 11:57AM (1/24/2006)
I guess Hollywood consists of only movie stars and all athletes are concerned only about steroid testing. Fact is, majority of Hollywood consists of regular folks working behind the scenes. The majority of athletes are not overpaid superstars. If it weren't for the unions, the two industries would have working conditions like sweatshops.
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jamie 12:01PM (1/24/2006)
Don't get me wrong, but I am strongly pro-management and anti-union. However, what with the proposed solutions at GM and Ford, I believe that union action is justified. Either way the union loses. And if the union loses, so do the workers.
Not one job has to be lost. Not one plant has to close. The problem with GM and Ford is lack of leadership which is best summarized in the question:
WHY IS GM AND FORD CLOSING PLANTS WHILE TOYOTA CONTINUES TO BUILD PLANTS AND HIRE STAFF?
The answer is obvious. Management is inept. Instead of providing the marketplace with exciting first class vehicles the consumer craves for, they build what they can produce cheaply and can hopefully sell.
GM builds and sells 6 million vehicles annually in NA...all at a $1227 loss per vehicle (due to legacy costs). Rickshaw-ready Rick Wagoner proposed to reduce production to 4 million vehicles annually which in turn will drive up legacy costs to over $1800 per vehicle. He has also proposed lower "value pricing" to replace MSRP. When you are losing money, how can you lower prices when your fixed costs are rising? Duh?
The greatest assets of GM and Ford are its production facilities and their workers. They are ALL under-utilized. Bill Ford and Rick Wagoner would have you believe that there is some sort of redundant overcapacity in the system. How misleading can that be? The fact is that they are NOT using their facilities or workers to their best advantage.
Their proposals of downsizing are nothing more than a disguised form of union busting. And the union knows it; and now so do you.
I can turn GM or Ford around in 90 days! If the current management teams can't do likewise, then get rid of them.
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Corey W. 12:03PM (1/24/2006)
What jobs are you protecting when the company goes under!!
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