As of Wednesday evening, 51% of the more than 28,000 workers who had cast ballots had voted against the agreement.
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The United Auto Workers union is making a last-ditch push for the union’s proposed contract with Ford, which appears to be heading for defeat in votes at Ford’s plants.
USA Today adds that the delay in ratification, which is extended until November 20, 2015, has created tension at a few plants between production workers and skilled trades workers.
But the UAW said that the maintenance workers share unique sets of interests, including enhanced electrical and mechanical skills and training requirements, varying shift schedules, and even different uniforms than their colleagues working in assembly, body welding or the paint shop.
Her comments echoed those of UAW Local 600 President Bernie Ricke, who represents workers at several MI plants. For decades, the UAW has worked to craft similar agreements with all Detroit automakers so no single company has an advantage, or disadvantage, over the other when it comes to labor rates.
Richard Hurd, a labor relations professor at Cornell University said if the UAW is successful in gaining representation for the maintenance workers at Volkswagen, it may try a similar approach with other foreign autoworkers’ plants in the region.
The UAW argues that workers at those plants make products that compete directly with suppliers and said the lower wage at those plants helps to preserve jobs and prevented Ford from closing those plants.
As voting enters the final two days, the deal is failing among production workers – 52 percent “no” to 48 percent “yes” – and passing among skilled-trades employees by a slim margin of 51 percent to 49 percent, according to tallies compiled by Automotive News and a UAW local in Chicago.
Union leadership say it’s been hard to get the message across – particularly to younger members – and they say social media isn’t doing them any favors.
The production workers have voted to ratify the tentative agreement.
Local 862 president Todd Dunn said that results from voting through 10 p.m. Tuesday will be released to the membership sometime Wednesday morning then made public. It includes $9 billion in new investments and limits on outsourcing jobs. It affects workers hired after 2007, including 150 to 180 workers at the Ohio Assembly Plant, Samples said.
Up to 4,000 eligible employees would be offered a $60,000 early retirement incentive. But, “if we thought there was another dollar on the table we would have got it in the first agreement”, he said.
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“We basically gave up the farm”, said Houldieson, pointing to a pay hike they gave up in 2006 and a cost-of-living raise not taken in 2009.
