Ford Is Up Next in UAW Talks
October 15, 2007

Now that United Auto Workers (UAW) unions at General Motors have ratified their new contract and Chrysler workers are voting on their new agreement, it is Ford’s turn to negotiate a new deal with the union. And its deal is likely to be similar to those at GM and Chrysler.

Ford Chairman Bill Ford, through a company spokesperson, told Dow Jones the framework of the deal between GM and the UAW was "certainly something we can work with."

Similarly, Ford CEO Alan Mulally told The Associated Press a deal with the major elements of those hammered out at GM and Chrysler will help Ford be more competitive. "The basic framework, the elements of it are very transformational," Mulally said. "It'll increase our competitiveness tremendously."

Mulally would not tell the wire service whether the GM and Chrysler contracts go far enough for Ford, nor would he discuss whether Ford could match job security guarantees that are in the GM contract.

"We're each in different situations," he said. "I am really looking forward to continuing to work with the UAW to increase the quality and competitiveness of Ford."

Ford has a younger labor force than GM. That means any savings it could achieve by moving out older workers at the higher wage and replacing them with younger workers at the lower wage could be less significant.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has said the union understands each company has unique situations and the union can do “a little adjustment” to address the differences.

Posted by Michelle Krebs at 10:50 AM under Ford , News | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine