Union Workers Uncertain on Approving Labor Agreement with Ford

Do Union Workers Want Labor Unions to Fail?

The Dismal Political Economist is a strong supporter of labor unions.  Historically labor unions have played an important role in generating income and job benefit gains for middle class Americans.  This in turn has generated strong economic growth over the past 75 to 80 years, particularly in the post World War II years where the economy grew at a high rate and those gains accrued to the middle class.

GM, Ford and Chrysler have each reached an agreement with auto makers over a new contract.  The contract has been approved at GM, but voting currently taking place at Ford has resulted in the possibility that the new contract would be voted down.  If so, here is what Ford workers would be rejecting.

UAW workers would be seen turning down a contract that pays each worker a $6,000 signing bonus plus $1,500 in payments over the next four years to cover the cost of inflation all at a time when jobs in the U.S. are scarce,

which is a better contract than GM or Chrysler.  And there is the fact that

The proposed contract calls for Ford to invest $6.2 billion in U.S. plants and add 12,000 jobs through 2015 in addition to the signing bonus and inflation payments.

Ford workers are unhappy about this

Ford workers who have opposed the contract say it lacks a real wage increase to fight inflation for current employees, any increase for pensioners, and keeps unwanted changes made in 2009 to absentee policy, break time and holidays scheduling.

and are probably unhappy about high salaries and bonuses Ford management is receiving.  Now there is no question that corporate compensation is out of control, but if any management team does deserve high compensation, it is Ford’s. 

Ford’s union workers apparently do not understand that the union movement is in a battle for survival.

Republicans are using a recent labor-law complaint against Boeing to achieve a radical goal that goes far beyond the legal issues in the case: unraveling workers’ rights that have been part of the fabric of our social contract since the Great Depression.

 If they reject this contract they may or may not get a better deal, but in the long run rejection will have given enemies of the labor movement more ammunition with which to attack unions.  And if Ford workers are unhappy with this contract, they are not going to be happy with no contract and no union, which would take place in a union free environment.

The head of the UAW is confident the contract will be ratified and one hopes he is correct.  Not for the benefit of Ford, it is doing quite nicely thank you, but for the benefit of the UAW and labor unions in the future.