News bulletin
Ford UAW plant leaders meeting with Gettelfinger, King
August 29, 2006
By SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
UAW leaders for the Ford Motor Co. plants in the United States gathered in downtown Detroit Tuesday afternoon, to hear from UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and Bob King, the union's newly named vice president for negotiating with Ford.
Gettelfinger would not disclose the agenda for the meeting in a conversation with the Detroit Free Press on the steps of the UAW-Ford National Programs Center.
“I'm just down here introducing myself to these people,” he said.
But many UAW leaders walking into the meeting said they expected the topic to be serious, and possibly to include details of job buyouts.
“I hope so,” said Danny Sparks, chairman of UAW Local 882, which represents workers at the Ford plant in Hapeville, Ga., near Atlanta. That plant is already slated to close later this year under Ford's restructuring plan.
The Dearborn-based Ford is updating its Way Forward restructuring plan, which already called for cutting 34,000 jobs and closing 14 plants, after posting a $1.4 billion half-year loss. And many of the options it is considering could impact hourly workers represented by the UAW.
Ford is weighing a plan that could slash as much as 25% of its 140,000-strong workforce in North America, the Free Press previously reported. That includes about 82,000 workers represented by the UAW, and many workers are hoping that they will be offered a job buyout.
Nationwide, however, many workers have been hoping that Ford will extend job buyout programs to their plants. Ford has been offering buyouts on a selective basis at plants, most of which are slated to close.
Consequently, just 7% of Ford's U.S. hourly workforce -- about 5,600 Ford-UAW members -- have agreed to leave, according to Ford's most recent figures. That's a sharp contrast to the 35,000 that have agreed to leave General Motors Corp. under that company's sweeping buyout program.
While Sparks hoped buyouts would be discussed, UAW Local 882 President Samuel Stephens emphasized that they weren't certain that it would be discussed.
“We don't know what the agenda is,” he said.
The meeting is expected to last through 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Contact SARAH A. WEBSTER at 313-222-5394 or
swebster@freepress.com