BY JOHN SARGE AND FRANK FORRESTAL

DETROIT - Two days after the September 14 bargaining deadline, Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative contract agreement.

Terms of the accord were not released as of press time. But the media reported that the three-year contract for the first time sets a permanently lower wage for some Ford parts workers. At the same time the company agreed to keep at least 95 percent of the union members in each of its 49 plants. Ford, however, retains the right to dip below the UAW employment level if auto sales stumble. The company employs 105,000 workers and is second largest among General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler.

Initial reports in the big-business press painted the agreement as favorable to the union. "Ford, UAW agree to a landmark deal," was the headline of the September 17 Chicago Tribune. The accord "offers generous economic gains and sets new precedents for preserving jobs that are likely to cause problems for General Motors Corp.," said the Chicago Sun-Times.

"Auto industry and labor experts say they are stunned by the far-reaching implications of Ford's promise to keep its UAW hourly employment at 95% of the current level for the next three years, even as workers retire or otherwise leave," said a front- page article, in the September 18 Wall Street Journal. "The worry is that the Ford agreement could open the way to labor- contract terms that would limit industrial companies' ability to reduce their work forces."

CNN reported September 17 that the proposed agreement represents "a sad day for shareholders."

From the beginning of negotiations this summer, union officials made no strike preparations in UAW-organized plants. Talks continued after the expiration of the old contract without a formal extension and with production unaffected. The contracts at Chrysler and GM were extended on September 13, allowing either side the right to end the extension with three days notice.

For decades the union has negotiated a contract with one of the Big Three and then got the other two to sign a similar agreement. UAW tops are giving different signals this year, however. UAW president Stephen Yokich has indicated from the beginning of negotiations he is willing to tailor contracts to suit the needs of the different auto makers.

The last national strike against Ford was in 1976. Union officials at Ford discarded the concept of "no contract, no work" in 1987, when they told workers to stay on the job after the contract expired. This was repeated during in 1990 and 1993.

The UAW international executive board was scheduled to present the settlement to the Ford UAW council, made up of 300 local union officials, September 19. Once the pact is approved by the council, it will be presented to the rank and file. Yokich said he expects that the ratification vote will be held by September 29.

So far, it has been difficult for workers in the plants to get information on the agreement. At the Ford plant in Chicago, as well as other assembly and parts plants, workers have been passing around news articles on the settlement.

Highlights of settlement
From the reports in the media, the main highlights of the agreement are as follows:

Ford agreed to guarantee the jobs of at least 95 percent of UAW members in each of its 49 plants during the life of the three-year contract. The company had proposed earlier an 85 percent level of protected employment. Past Big Three contracts provided some wage protection for laid-off UAW members, but never guaranteed a minimum number of jobs. According to news accounts, however, the pact includes an escape clause scuttling this guarantee during a downturn in sales.

GM, the largest automaker, is aiming to cut 50,000 to 70,000 jobs to be as productive as Ford. But 5 percent reduction of the workforce the Ford settlement provides would amount to only 11,000 jobs. During recent negotiations, Yokich said, "We are going after an agreement that all companies can live with, and that's where we are." According to the Wall Street Journal, GM is "clearly hoping that the UAW will give the company wiggle room - escape clauses and exceptions - to trim its workforce."

Ford was not successful in extending the so-called "grow-in" two-tier wage period from three to six years. The new pact maintains the terms of contract signed in 1993, where new production workers start at 70 percent of full union rate and take three years to reach top pay. Even at this scale, Ford would save an estimated $70 million for every 1,000 workers hired.

Over the next seven years, 242,000 of the UAW's 400,000 members in the Big Three plants will face retirement. The two- tier wage period is unpopular in the plants, especially among the thousands of new hires. In its latest offer to the union, GM demanded a starting wage 50 percent of union scale and a 10-year period to reach top rate.

The UAW agreed to a permanent two-tier wage structure for new hires in parts plants. These workers will be hired at approximately $9 per hour, about half the current hourly pay in the Big Three.

UAW members are to receive a $2,000 lump-sum payment the first year, and increases of 3 percent each of the next two years. This represents the first time since 1984 that Big Three workers will receive annual wage increases. According to one news account, "Ford wanted to stay closer to the old contract that allowed a 3 percent pay raise the first year and lump sum payments for the final two years." UAW members do not favor bonuses because they hold down wages and benefits, which are figured on hourly wage rates.

Pensions for UAW retirees after 30 years of employment will rise by 11 percent to $2,260 per month. Discussions in the plants are just beginning on these issues.

In a related development, the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW), representing 53,000 members, reached a tentative settlement with Chrysler September 18. According to initial media reports, the union backed off the company's demands to outsource some of its production to non-CAW factories.

Frank Forrestal is a member of UAW Local 551 at Ford in Chicago. John Sarge is a member of UAW Local 900 at Ford in Wayne, Michigan.  
 
 
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