Ford:
Taking care of its retirees is one of the things the American auto industry prides itself on, and for good reason. But it's also one of the things that's making it hard to compete with foreign carmakers - the expenses are getting out of control. To help keep both Ford and the UAW operating in the current market, a new deal has been struck that changes the way retiree health care is funded, and most critically, Ford says it will help keep the company from needing a government bridge loan.
The focus of the new contract announcement wasn't so much about the terms - which are assuredly dry - but about the impact it can have on workers and the industry. Bob King, the UAW's VP in charge of the Ford Department summed it up: "Our bargaining committee made an extraordinary effort to negotiate changes in a responsible way that will help Ford be competitive, while still protecting our active and retired members."
For its part, Ford seems satisfied with the changes too. Joe Hinrichs, group VP of global manufacturing and labor affairs (pictured above), said, "By working together with our UAW partners, we identified solutions that will help Ford reach competitive parity with foreign-owned auto manufacturers and that are important to our efforts to operate through the current economic environment without accessing a bridge loan from the U.S. government."
That last point may be of most interest to both the average UAW worker and the average American taxpayer. Throughout the current market downturn, however, Ford has maintained the most solid position of the Detroit carmakers, so perhaps it comes as no surprise.
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http://www.motorauthority.com/ford-a...mpetitive.html
GM:
Yesterday we reported about the deal worked out between Ford and the United Auto Workers (UAW), and now the national union group has announced that it has reached an agreement with General Motors. According to Cal Rapson, vice-president of the UAW's GM section, the "tentative changes" made to the UAW GM National Agreement are similar to the Ford deal in the area of economics but other parts are very different.
These so-called differences include changes that better “fit the UAW GM culture”, Rapson explained to the Detroit Free Press. Rapson wasn’t willing to go into specifics but said the new agreement included no mandatory physical examinations.
At the heart of the agreement also lies the debt owed by manufacturers to the retiree health care fund. The automotive bailout money provided to GM by the White House requires the company to convince the union to take half of the payment for the retiree health care debt in the form of GM stock, rather than cash. Until this area of the deal is ironed out, however, UAW workers will not be able to vote on and ratify the agreement.
Apart from this area, it’s expected that the UAW GM agreement will include a halt in wage inflation and reduced break times as its agreement with Ford stipulates, but the exact nature of the concessions still remains uncertain.
All Content Copyright 2006-2008 Motor Authority
http://www.motorauthority.com/uaw-an...agreement.html