It’s an urgent, important vote on the table for local Ford workers, many of whom are balking at changing their union contract with Ford again.
The backlash appears to be so strong that the UAW International President came to Louisville Sunday to make his case. He says opponents are spreading misinformation about what's in the contract. Ron Gettelfinger said in his address Sunday that, "one thing we don't ever want to see is a closing." Gettelfinger says the key to preventing such a dire situation lies in the latest contract proposal. Opponents balk at the idea, saying there are too many concessions in the contract and they lose the right to strike which Gettelfinger says is untrue. "The workers here at Ford have the right to strike on every issue expect wage and benefit improvements," said Gettelfinger. "If you're a production worker, or even a skilled trade worker, we don't see this as a concessionary agreement. We see it as an agreement that's moving us into the future." And proponents point out the contract includes a new vehicle for the Louisville Assembly plant. Still others say GM and Chrysler were in such bad shape they required a bailout. Ford never got there, and even Gettelfinger admitted Ford will likely post profit earnings this quarter. Ford says deals made between the UAW and GM and Chrysler made the playing field uneven and Ford needs this deal to stay competitive. Gettelfinger says for union members, this contract secures a future with Ford. "We're looking at the long term. We're asking people to sit down with their family and see how this impacts them personally." Sources have told WHAS11 News that the new product ford plans for Louisville is a compact SUV that will require three full shifts of workers at the Louisville Assembly Plant. Despite the prospect of many more jobs for Louisville, many workers WHAS11 spoke with Sunday say they are still unsure how they vote or will vote against the contract. Voting is Wednesday thru Friday. "It’s hard for me to understand, voted in February, took concessions, now want to take more," said one Ford worker. "I have integrity in company, buy $30,000 Explorers, they cut pay in half, negotiated temp time, Alan Mullaly makes $28 million a year and his staff gets more and they still want to take what can from blue collar people." Gettelfinger made his case directly to those workers at an informational meeting Sunday. Ford's 41,000 UAW members will vote this week whether to accept more changes to their contract that would bring labor costs more in line with GM and Chrysler and union leaders appear nervous about the outcome of that vote, especially with some union officials saying the deal includes too many concessions and limits the workers' right to strike
