US auto union prepares to hand over massive concessions

The crisis in the US auto industry, highlighted by the record losses suffered by Ford, has already been used to impose massive job cuts, totaling over 100,000 at General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and auto parts maker Delphi over the last year alone. With the national auto contract due to expire in September, the auto companies and the union are using threats of further cuts to permanently roll back the conditions of auto workers.

According to a report in the March 2 edition of the Wall Street Journal, headlined “Desperate to cut costs, Ford gets union’s help,” UAW locals at 33 Ford plants have agreed to “competitive operating agreements” that have allowed the company to slash production costs.

The Journal reports, “Thousands of UAW members accepted changing to four-day, 10-hour shifts that can include weekend days, without collecting overtime. At an engine plant in Lima, Ohio, some union workers have volunteered to manage their brethren, for a 50-cent-an-hour bump in pay. Elsewhere, long-honored seniority rules have been waived and job definitions have been broadened.”

Local 600 at the Ford Rouge complex in Dearborn, Michigan has agreed to new work rules permitting the company to bring in nonunion workers, earning half of standard pay, to perform tasks formerly performed by union members. However, the UAW took measures to preserve its dues income. While allowing Ford to outsource 100 to 150 jobs, it stipulated that the union be permitted to organize the workers, who earn only a fraction of the pay of UAW members at the factory and few benefits.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/uaw-m17.shtml