“When we shake hands today, we must recognize the sacrifices these stateworkers have made in recent years, and bargain a contract that will provide stable public services for UAW members, taxpayers and those who truly rely on all of us”, said UAW President Dennis Williams.
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“We are not going to leave members behind”, said Williams. Last week on Friday the top UAW official also had an encounter with President Barack Obama and Labor Secretary Tom Perez at the White House to discuss environmental and safety standards for Mexican auto production. He said his concerns were understood. “Ford Motor Company knows that”.
Right now, it comes down to one big question.
Amid speculation that the plant that is responsible for the Ford Focus is in jeopardy of being closed, Ford Executive Vice President John Fleming addressed all speculation. The site was chosen to highlight Ford and the UAW’s team effort to help the Detroit community.
“We don’t just build cars”.
“We don’t just build cars, we build communities”, Settles said. The current contract expires December. 31, 2015.
Vehicle makers, hoping to take advantage of lower wage rates and proximity to the U.S. market, have announced billions of dollars in new auto investment in Mexico over the last few years – often at the expensive of allocating new jobs to the U.S.
Ford chief executive officer Mark Fields said the carmaker seeks a “fair and competitive labor agreement for both sides”, an attitude that was echoed by Williams and the union’s main Ford negotiator, Jimmy Settles.
The event at Ford follows last week’s contract kickoff at General Motors and Fiat Chrysler.
On Thursday, GM reported a $1.1 billion profit for the second quarter, beating Wall Street’s expectations.
Analysts believe the talks with Fiat Chrysler could be the most problematic. “And we’re so happy to be here under them conditions”, adding, with a smile, “and we’ll be reminding them of that daily”. The move will affect about 4,000 workers at the plant, if Ford executes the plan. In the four years in between however, the company added over 15,000 jobs and invested more than $6.2 billion in its American plants, according to a Detroit Free Press story.
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Still, Ford contends it still “operates at a competitive disadvantage verses other automakers”.
