Ford’s Kansas City F-150 plant rejects UAW agreement

Ford’s MI assembly plant in Wayne, Mich., which has about 2,700 workers, was the first big factory to vote on the deal.

The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday turned back VW objections and scheduled a UAW vote next month by skilled trades workers who make up about 12 percent of the plant’s blue collar workers.

The UAW may be able to win a few clarifying language cited in the contract in an addendum or letter that would not require another vote by workers.

But workers like Mary Donovan Springowski, a team leader at an engine plant in Cleveland, are opposed to the contract, in part, because it includes all-new, lower pay rates for workers at three of Ford’s plants – Rawsonville, Sterling Axle and Woodhaven Stamping. Under the new pact, workers with four or more years of experience will make the top $29 hourly wage within four years; workers with less experience would make between $22.50 and $28 in four years and top wages in eight years.

The tone of UAW statements on VW and the plant workers in Chattanooga has taken a turn since the union was working with VW more closely in 2014.

The union’s chief Ford negotiator, Jimmy Settles, said Wednesday that with 75% of workers voting, the contract is failing by a 52-48% margin.

While the Chicago plant’s status as a producer of full-size Explorer SUVs and Taurus sedans for the US market protects it from that threat, any decision to move the production of Focus compacts or other small cars overseas from other USA plants would further weaken the union, Dziczek said. “If they’re not gonna recoup all the concessions they’ve made in the past now, when are they going to recoup them?”

As such, even though the majority of GM UAW members overall supported the tentative agreement with 55.4 percent voting for its ratification, it could be ratified immediately since 59.5 percent of skilled trades workers opposed the deal.

The UAW can overrule a rejection by skilled trades workers if the union finds they voted against it for reasons that are predominantly economic and not unique to their classification.

Under the four-year deal, Ford would invest $9 billion and create or retain 8,500 jobs at its US plants.

A review of their concerns found workers had issues pertaining to local contract agreements, reclassification of trades, numbers of apprentices and the absence of cost of living increases and buyouts.

Kansas City Assembly, which would receive $200 million in investments under the tentative deal, builds the F-150 pickup – which is crucial to Ford Motor Co.’s US sales – and the Transit commercial van.

GM workers would keep the outgoing contract’s profit sharing structure of $1,000 per $1 billion in GM North American profit.

“Workers think this is a pretty healthy time, this is a pretty healthy company”, said Kristin Dziczek, director of the worldwide Labor Group of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, MI.