Gary Jones, president UAW International, (left) and Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company, shake hands today at Ford World Headquarters to begin negotiations for the 2019 contract.Sam Varnhagen / Ford Ford has relatively quickly reached a tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) in the United States, drawing a sharp contrast to the unions six-week strike at General Motors over contract bargaining there.In a statement, Ford said it has put together a proposed tentative agreement on a four-year contract with the union, but would not release any details. The UAW has 55,000 union members at Ford that must vote and ratify the deal before it takes effect.Ford and the union had been in preliminary talks prior to and during the GM strike, which ended last Saturday and is estimated to have cost that automaker about US$2.9 billion. Like other automakers, Ford faces an overall decline in U.S. and Canadian sales, as well as pressure to invest in autonomous technologies for cars that are still well in the future. In discussing its third-quarter 2019 earnings, Ford said it is also facing fourth-quarter headwinds of higher warranty costs, North American incentives that will be more generous than expected, and a drop in sales volumes in China. Uncertainties over commodities, tariffs and currency exchange could also affect its bottom line.In Canada, Ford will cut some 450 workers at its plant in Oakville, Ontario, its second round of layoffs at the facility this year. The latest cutbacks are blamed on the decision to end production of the Ford Flex and Lincoln MKT, which are built at the Oakville plant. The workers are expected to be laid off early next year.Ford previously announced it will concentrate on trucks and SUVs rather than cars, and will soon be unveiling a new F-150, Super Duty and Bronco. It will keep the Mustang, of course, and is promising an innovative, Mustang-inspired battery-electric vehicle as well.Once the UAW votes on the Ford contract, it will move on to talks with Fiat Chrysler (FCA), although the automaker’s recent plan to merge with Europe’s PSA Group could disrupt what might otherwise have been equally-smooth
Origin: Ford comes to quick agreement with U.S. workers’ union
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GM union ends 40-day strike with ratification of new deal
Striking United Auto Workers members picket at the General Motors Lansing Parts and Warehouse for the fifth week of the strike on October 16, 2019 in Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano / Getty Striking General Motors factory workers will put down their picket signs after approving a new contract that will end a 40-day strike that paralyzed the company’s U.S. production. The United Auto Workers union said in a statement Friday that workers had approved the new four-year deal. But no vote totals were given. The union shortly after announced it plans to next negotiate with Ford, and then Fiat Chrysler. Picket lines were to come down immediately, and skilled trades workers will begin restarting factories that were shuttered when 49,000 workers walked out on September 16. Some production workers could return as early as Friday night. The deal includes a mix of wage increases and lump-sum payments and an US$11,000 signing bonus. But GM will close three U.S. factories that make slow-selling cars and transmissions. Analysts estimate the strike cost GM more than US$2 billion. Trades workers such as machinists and electricians likely will enter the plants quickly, restarting boilers and preparing paint shops, robots and other equipment to restart production. Although GM dealers had stocked up on vehicles before the strike and many still have decent supplies, analysts say GM won’t be able to make up for the lost production. Had the strike been shorter, GM could have increased assembly line speeds and worked the plants on overtime to catch up and refill its stock. But many of the plants that make popular SUVs and pickup trucks already were working around the clock to keep up with demand before the strike began. Also, companies that supply parts to the factories and halted production during the strike will need time to restart, although GM has some parts in stock. Jeff Schuster, senior vice-president of the consulting firm LMC Automotive, estimates that GM has lost production of 300,000 vehicles, and he said maybe only a quarter of it can be made up. “You can’t add days to the week and you can’t add hours to the day,” he said. Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) who are employed at the General Motors Co. Flint Assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, slow down salary employees entering the plant as they strike early on September 16, 2019. Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty Some production losses will help thin inventory, especially of cars, Schuster said. But in late October and early November, GM will likely run short of colours and models of trucks and SUVs that are in high demand until stocks are replenished, he said. Although truck and SUV buyers generally are loyal to a brand, customers in a hurry for a new vehicle could go elsewhere, Schuster said. “There are definitely going to be some limitations on choice, and that is a risk,” Schuster said. “Consumers can opt to wait, or they can go down the street to their competitor.” Now the union will move on to bargain with Ford, using the GM deal as a template. It’s not clear yet if there will be another strike, but Ford will not be happy about being stuck with the GM terms.
Origin: GM union ends 40-day strike with ratification of new deal
Tentative contract shows U.S. union still has power, but members ready to work
Striking United Auto Workers members picket at the General Motors Lansing Parts and Warehouse for the fifth week of the strike on October 16, 2019 in Lansing, Michigan.Bill Pugliano / Getty On the picket lines at a General Motors transmission plant in Toledo, Ohio, passing cars honked and striking workers celebrated a tentative contract deal by munching on 10 pizzas dropped off by a supporter.They had carried signs for 31 days and demonstrated the muscle the United Auto Workers union still has over Detroits three manufacturers.Details of the four-year pact werent released, but GMs latest offer to end the monthlong strike included wage increases and lump-sum payments, top-notch health insurance at little cost to workers, promises of new products for many U.S. factories and a path to full-time work for temporary workers.Thats a big difference from what GM wanted going into the talks: to slash total labour costs at its factories, which are about US$13 per hour higher than at foreign automakers in the U.S.Terry Dittes, the UAWs chief bargainer with GM, said the deal offers major gains for 49,000 union workers who have been walking picket lines since Sept. 16. Theyll stay off work for at least a couple more days while union committees decide if they will bless the deal. Then workers will have to vote on it. The deal shows that the union, with less than one-third of the 1.5 million members it had at its peak in 1979, still has a lot of clout with GM, Ford and Fiat Chrysler.I think economically the UAW will do just fine in this agreement, said Art Schwartz, a former GM negotiator who now is a labour consultant in Michigan. The union certainly still has power in this industry.President Donald Trump called UAW President Gary Jones on Wednesday night, but union spokesperson Brian Rothenberg said he did not know what the men discussed.The strike immediately brought GMs U.S. factories to a halt, and within a week, started to hamper production in Mexico and Canada. Analysts estimated the stoppage cut GM vehicle production by 250,000 to 300,000 vehicles, and the costs to GM will hit around US$2 billion.Workers, on the other hand, lost north of $3,000 each on average, the difference between their base wages and $250 per week in strike pay from the union.Its nice to see theres a deal, but without knowing the details Im a little skeptical because we dont know the highlights or the lowlights, said worker Nick Kuhlman, who was among the strikers huddled around a burn barrel on a blustery, gray Toledo afternoon.I just hope it gets done, said Toledo worker Mark Nichols, who thought the strike would last only a week or two and was ready to get back to work because his savings are running low. Striking United Auto Workers members picket at the General Motors Lansing Parts and Warehouse for the fifth week of the strike on October 16, 2019 in Lansing, Michigan. Bill Pugliano / Getty GM apparently was able to close three of four factories that it wanted to shutter to get rid of excess capacity in slow-selling cars and components. The Detroit-Hamtramck plant will get a new electric pickup truck and stay open, but factories in Lordstown, Ohio; Warren, Michigan; and near Baltimore are to be closed. The Lordstown area will get an electric vehicle battery factory, but it wont have nearly as many workers as the assembly plant that for years made compact GM cars.The deal now will be used as a template for talks with GMs crosstown rivals, Ford and Fiat Chrysler. Normally the major provisions carry over to the other two companies and cover about 140,000 auto workers nationwide. It wasnt clear which company the union would bargain with next, or whether there would be another strike.The strike had shut down 33 GM manufacturing plants in nine states across the U.S., and also took down factories in Canada and Mexico. It was the first national strike by the union since a two-day walkout in 2007, and the longest since a 54-day strike in Flint, Michigan in 1998 that also halted most of GMs
Origin: Tentative contract shows U.S. union still has power, but members ready to work
U.S. workers’ union starts first strike against GM in 12 years
Members of the United Auto Workers (UAW) who are employed at the General Motors Flint Assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, slow down salary employees entering the plant as they strike early on September 16, 2019.Jeff Kowalsky / AFP via Getty The United Auto Workers union is leading its first strike against General Motors in 12 years, digging in for a fight over jobs and benefits that could cost the carmaker dearly.The strike that took effect at midnight may cost GM about US$50 million a day in earnings before interest and taxes due to lost production, Dan Levy, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said Sunday.While GM touted an offer to invest in plants across the U.S. and boost wages and benefits, UAW leadership has been rocked by a corruption scandal and needs to show willingness to bring the fight to an automaker thats been scaling back its workforce.The union is playing some hardball. It seems they are pretty far apart, said Kristin Dziczek, vice-president of the labor and economics group at the Center for Automotive Research. GMs offer still doesnt address some of the unions demands.GM has offered US$7 billion of investment in eight U.S. plants and more than 5,400 additional jobs, most of which would be new hires. But the union said GMs proposal fell short in key areas including health care, use of temporary workers and the length of time it takes for shorter-tenured members to get to top-scale pay.The union is seeking pay raises for entry-level workers, who currently start at less than US$20 an hour, and to get them to the peak wage of almost US$30 an hour in three or four years, instead of the current period of eight years.Going into this bargaining season, our members have been very clear about what they will and will not accept from this contract, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes said at a press conference on Sunday.Temporary employees and those working their way up the pay scale are doing the same work for less compensation, said Ted Krumm, the head of the unions bargaining committee. We are fighting for the future of the middle class, he said. GM countered that it made the union a generous offer to invest in factories in four states, including a new vehicle in the Detroit-Hamtramck sedan plant that had been slated to end production in January.In Lordstown, Ohio, where GM has idled the factory that once had three shifts of workers making Chevrolet Cruze compact cars, the automaker plans to set up the first union-represented electric-car battery plant in the U.S. There are also four electric trucks coming that other UAW plants will build.GM offered workers a signing bonus of US$8,000 per member if they ratify the deal, plus wage gains or lump-sum payments in all four years of the contract. The carmaker says its offering to keep members health-care contributions the same as in the current contract.The walkout will be just the second national work stoppage at GM since a 67-day strike in 1970. GM did have a 54-day strike at a key plant in Flint, Michigan, in 1998 that effectively shut down most of its assembly
Origin: U.S. workers’ union starts first strike against GM in 12 years
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