Ford’s hopes to save labor costs grow dimmer

October 31, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co.’s hopes for a cost-cutting labor agreement grew dimmer, with two more United Auto Workers locals in Chicago rejecting the changes. Key local unions were scheduled to vote later Friday.

Seventy-five percent of workers voting at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, which makes the Taurus, rejected the deal late Thursday, according to Gary Walkowicz, a member of the bargaining committee at a plant near Detroit who has been leading opposition to the contract changes. Workers at the Chicago Stamping Plant voted 80 percent against the changes. Those plants have nearly 2,000 workers.

Results were expected later Friday from a local union in Ford’s home city of Dearborn, which represents more than 8,000 Ford workers, and a local union in Louisville, Ky., which represents 5,000 workers. Ford has a total of 41,000 workers represented by the UAW.

Exact tallies weren’t available, but at least 10 UAW locals representing about 14,500 workers have voted down the deal, many overwhelmingly. Only about four locals with a total of 7,000 members have favored the pact.

Ford sought the deal to bring its labor costs in line with Detroit rivals Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co., both of which won concessions from the union as they headed into bankruptcy protection earlier this year. If the agreement fails, Ford will have higher labor costs than competitors and therefore a tougher time turning a profit.

Ford has said it won’t comment until balloting is over. The company is scheduled to release its third-quarter earnings Monday, the same day the UAW had asked locals to wrap up voting.

Ford and UAW leaders agreed to make another round of changes to their 2007 labor agreement two weeks ago, but workers must ratify the changes for them to go into effect. Workers already approved concessions in the spring.

Gary Chaison, a professor of labor relations at Clark University in Worcester, Mass., said it’s extremely rare for union members to vote against the leadership. But he said Ford asked for too much too soon after workers already agreed to concessions earlier this year.

He also said Ford lacks credibility because its financial situation wasn’t as dire as GM and Chrysler.

“They made such a strong case about not going to bankruptcy court and turning the corner, so they couldn’t go to the workers and say, ’We need this to turn the corner,”’ he said.

Rocky Comito, president of the Louisville local, said workers objected to a limit on the right to strike and questioned why Ford was seeking further changes. Workers also approved a new contract with concessions in 2007, and made health care concessions in 2005.

“They’re concerned about giving up too much without justification,” Chaison said.

Chaison said the vote is an embarrassment to UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, who personally campaigned in Louisville last weekend. He started his career at the local, which represents workers at the Kentucky Truck and Louisville Assembly plants. Both plants have received assurances of future work from the company.

Workers would get a $1,000 bonus if the deal is ratified, but the proposal also would freeze entry-level wages and require some skilled-trades workers to do more than one job. The union also agreed not to strike Ford if the two sides disagree on wage or benefit increases, although the UAW could still strike over other issues.

Gettelfinger told The Associated Press last week that the deal saves 7,000 union jobs with new product commitments at several plants. He said he is concerned Ford will withdraw those promises if the deal is rejected.

“The commitments would be gone, and we’d be back to the drawing board, I would assume,” he said. “I like to look positive and think that it will pass.”

Workers at factories in Claycomo, Mo., and Livonia, Plymouth, Sterling Heights, Flat Rock, Ypsilanti Township, Mich., have rejected the deal thus far. Locals in Wayne, Mich.; Cleveland; Indianapolis and St. Paul, Minn., have voted in favor.