The decisive votes have been given on Friday by union locals in Kentucky and Dearborn, representing together about 13,000 workers. According to initial estimates the contract was so far rejected by some 27,500 people, while only 7,000 were in favor.
Ford is yet to react to the killing of its last hopes of tackling rivals Chrysler and GM by slashing its expenses. According to UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, once rejected, the contract will not go through another vote.
"If it fails, there would be no reason to go back to the bargaining table," Gettelfinger was quoted as saying by the source. "We have a democratic process in place. People have a right to express themselves. We recognize there's a lot of misinformation about it out there, but that is what it is."
The failure of the new contract is seen by those involved as being the union's fault, as they did a poor job explaining its representatives why voting in favor is important – preservation of jobs and competitiveness.
"The sign of a good leader is that you can agree to something and then sell it to the membership," Gary Chaison, professor of labor relations at Clark University in Worcester says.
With the final votes set to be announced today, it is to be expected we'll have some Ford reaction during the day.
Google News