Harley Lover Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Ford auto worker Gary Walkowicz said GM's tentative contract does not recover nearly enough of the $7,000 to $30,000 in concessions made by Ford hourly workers since 2007. Based on reported details of the GM pact, a contract with those terms at Ford would not be ratified by the rank-and-file who want a pay raise and restoration of a COLA, he said. "I don't think it would fly here," said Walkowicz, who is a UAW committee man at the Dearborn Truckplant in Michigan, where Ford F-150 pickups are assembled. Walkowicz said a $5,000 signing bonus would be spread over four years. At $1,250 a year, that's an increase of just 2 percent of a straight-time wage for hourly workers of $58,240. In contrast, a 3 percent COLA that compounds annually would yield $18,000 in additional money to workers over the four years, he said. "That $5,000 is a drop in the bucket to what we've lost," Walkowicz said. I wondered how long it would take him, after the GM agreement was announced, to negotiate through the press. Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110919/OEM01/110919841/1489#ixzz1YR7wHLrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 (edited) Ford auto worker Gary Walkowicz said GM's tentative contract does not recover nearly enough of the $7,000 to $30,000 in concessions made by Ford hourly workers since 2007. Those "lost conditions" are not coming back, that's the whole reason Ford is running lean GM's average 'all-in' compensation is $56 an hour, while it's $58 an hour at Ford. Wave this fact under King's nose, does he want to continue to secure products for US plants or should they be sent elsewhere because his members want their pre 2007 conditions back? The choice is simple and why we're not being told the complete picture of what products are planned for which plants, the UAW gets to choose the destiny of its membership.... I'm sure that Canada would jump at the chance of new products being shifted a few hundred miles North..... Edited September 19, 2011 by jpd80 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DearbornDerek Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Please, please, please....STFU Gary!!!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deanh Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Please, please, please....STFU Gary!!!!! geez Derek...not getting a lot of help from these guys are you?.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 Please, please, please....STFU Gary!!!!! The voice of sanity, it's way too early for setting preconditions before anyone see the full package of what's being offered, people need time to absorb the balance of, planned products, stability of employment, planned bonuses and growth potential... If Ford is really successful in the next two years, employees will be sharing that profit, it's just the amount that has to be predetermined... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 "I don't think it would fly here," So much for solidarity ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DearbornDerek Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 geez Derek...not getting a lot of help from these guys are you?.... Whats funny is in the past during contract talks, the UAW would hand out flyers to all the employees. In a nut shell it said to tell all press/media...NO COMMENT. What can I say, the media is good at what they do. They always manage to find the dumbest, the fattest or the loudest (sometimes a combination of ALL 3) to use in the news reals or quotes.... :gang: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PREMiERdrum Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 Whats funny is in the past during contract talks, the UAW would hand out flyers to all the employees. In a nut shell it said to tell all press/media...NO COMMENT. What can I say, the media is good at what they do. They always manage to find the dumbest, the fattest or the loudest (sometimes a combination of ALL 3) to use in the news reals or quotes.... :gang: As an assignment editor in a television newsroom, I can say that you're exactly right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 3% annual COLA? what country does he live in? CPI-U hasn't gone up 3% per year in quite a while. And $18k over the life of a contract for a compounded 3% increase? (103%, 106.1%, 109.3%, 112.6% of base rate = 31% cumulative total cost = ~$58k annual wages. How many line workers are making ~$60k? I don't like spreading out profit sharing or signing bonuses in lieu of an increase in base pay for reasons I've outlined countless times before, but this guy? Shoot. People who hate unions must love guys like this: guys who don't know and won't be quiet. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpd80 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 These days. Ford is working all of its plants much harder with fewer workers and the reason those line workers are averaging $58K/year is because of overtime, something that wasn't available in the days of a bloated work force. Guys like this need to look at what's being offered as a complete package, not what they lost since '07 but unfortunately, looking backwards is going to derail a process that has great potential to work for both sides. Ford needs the UAW and it members to live in the now, not the past...... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTPwife Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 ~sigh~ Not Gary again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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