I read this yesterday about Ford avoiding the bailout with the help of UAW making some concessions and forming alternate employment principles. It's one of the few times I've heard of unions admitting that they,
not just the employer, need to make some concessions. It also illustrates how Ford reduced their labor costs to
$58 per hour, $17 less per hour than in 2007, to avoid the fate the other companies met and compete with the competitors on cost.
"Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. today credited the UAW for helping to “save” the automaker and stood by the track record of Ford’s dealer network as Tesla Motors pushes its direct-sales model.
Ford said in a live interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the UAW worked closely with his company to help avoid bankruptcy and a government bailout.
“When our times were darkest in the '07, '08, '09 time frame, the UAW helped our industry get back on its feet, helped Ford get back on its feet,” Ford said. “Ron Gettelfinger, the former president of the United Auto Workers, doesn't get enough credit for helping save Ford.”
"When we got into a really tough period, I sat down with Ron and I said, 'You have to help me save the Ford Motor Co.’”
Saving Ford meant union concessions, which included giving up vacation time, cost-of-living adjustments and Christmas bonuses.
Overtime pay was altered to be paid after 40 hours, instead of an eight-hour day, and break time was cut a minute per hour.
The company negotiated with the UAW
to implement a two-tier pay system to hire more entry-level workers and create retiree health care funds to be managed by a UAW trust fund. This allowed Ford to lower labor costs per employee to $58 per hour, or $17 less per hour than in 2007. Ford said those savings narrowed the labor cost gap with its foreign competitors to $8 per hour from $27 per hour....."
http://www.autonews.com/article/2014...it-for-helping