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Big Three: What Would a Successful Negotiation With the UAW Look Like?

I used to be a member of Local 588 in Chicago Heights, Illinois. I used to work for Ford in their Chicago Height's Stamping Plant. I left with the buyout last December. I took the two year schooling program. Those figures you placed about the disparity between domestics and foreign companies are correct. The UAW is going to have to come off of a lot of things this contract. Things like FMLA were so abused during my tenure there. People just up and decide that they didn't want to work, just use FMLA. We stayed working overtime because people viewed their job as a right and not as a privilege. Don Deel Jr. was our union leader for most of the time I was there and he was clearly doing it for the money and perks. His heart wasn't in it. Things start going bad, he's handing out cups, t-shirts, and coats, but issues were rarely ever resolved. On occasion, they would round up everyone from a shift and we would go to the loading dock for a meeting. Tell us the state of the company, how bad we are doing, etc.. Almost 100% of out of hourly's hands because of poor management decisions. That was another problem there. Way too many people held positions that they were in no way, shape, or form, qualified for. The whole operation was flawed there. People never read the writing on the wall. I re-enrolled myself back into school shortly after we started the ramp up for the Five Hundred and Freestyle there. It was made very clear that if this car didn't move units, your job is in jeopardy. Not to mention the Fusion was right around the corner. They are playing us $26.45 an hour while giving the Mexican worker $2 an hour for making the Fusion. You already know which vehicle Ford is going to get behind as far as sales. Just like they are making that subcompact car in Brazil, being able to enjoy prosperity in manufacturing in this country is gone for the hourly worker. My ex co-workers are going to find that out the hard way.