Ford Motor Company and United Auto Workers Agree to Reduce Labor Costs
A Reuters report released on Feb. 17, 2009 indicates that Ford Motor Company has come into agreement with the United Auto Workers to diminish its labor costs on a par with Japanese competitors. Although the terms of the agreement remain to be undisclosed until the VEBA discussions have been concluded, Ford Motor Company revealed that the deal would include adjustments in its operating practices, benefits, and labor costs. Additionally, the agreement covers 42,000 employees from Ford Motor Company and members must ratify it.
This is another aspect of helping Ford Motor Company survive in the absence of government loans. In December 2008, the United Auto Workers settled on suspending the job banks program as their way to help U.S. auto manufacturers in the midst of their crisis.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global automotive manufacturing company that offers a wide range of vehicles from cars and trucks to SUVs and crossovers as well as vehicle services. Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Company, which was incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company pioneered the use of moving assembly lines demonstrating efficient manufacturing sequences for the large-scale manufacture of cars and for the comprehensive management of an industrial workforce. With its headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Company has now become the fourth largest automaker in the world based on global vehicle sales in 2007, producing 6.553 million automobiles and employing 245,000 people at approximately 100 plants and facilities around the world. Aside from the Ford brand, Ford Motor Company also carries the Mercury and Lincoln brands in the United States. Additionally, Ford Motor Company owns Swedish car manufacturer Volvo Cars and it also has a small stake in British luxury sports car manufacturer Aston Martin and Japanese automaker Mazda.
About the United Auto Workers
The United Auto Workers (UAW), also known as the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, is a labor union representing workers in Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Based in Detroit, Michigan, the United Auto Workers was founded in May 1935 to represent workers in the automobile manufacturing sector.
Today, United Auto Workers has become one of the biggest and most diverse unions in North America with over 800 local unions, around 513,000 active members and over 575,000 retired members coming from a wide range of sectors including colleges, universities, hospitals, small companies, private non-profit organizations, multinational companies, and state and local governments. The union works to continually develop good partnerships with employers as well as negotiate “industry-leading” benefits and wages for its members. The United Auto Workers presently has 3,100 contracts with 2,000 employers in Canada, Puerto Rico, and the United States.
Ford and the UAW in the News:
UAW leaders recommend approval of Chrysler deal.
UAW gears up to join boards of the carmakers
2010 Fusion Hybrid goes 1,445 miles on single tank