July 27, 2015
By John Quinn, LaborPress USA
Detroit, Michigan — UAW President Dennis Williams, and the UAW negotiating committee members, officially began 2015 contract negotiations with Ford Motor Co. on Thursday July 23rd at the Cass Technical High School in Detroit. The current four-year labor agreement expires on Sept. 14 at midnight.
UAW President Dennis Williams said the UAW is focusing on jobs, and on entry level and legacy employees sharing in the prosperity of Ford. “From the battle of the overpass to the new era of partnership, from the early days of the post-war auto boom to the phenomenal growth of Ford after the Great Recession in recent years, the UAW and Ford have a long history together,” said Williams. “I call on our decades together to launch us into contract talks that build on the prosperity that our members' sacrifices have helped create with Ford, including a very good profit sharing program that’s paid off for the company, the stockholders and our members. We can all win here.”
UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles, the director of the union’s National Ford Department, echoed that sentiment. “We know the challenges we face and the expectations we have as we enter these negotiations, and we look forward to reaching a collective bargaining agreement that provides financial gains for our membership, while ensuring that Ford remains on its current path of profitability.” said Settles.
Collaboration between the UAW and Ford, through collective bargaining, has greatly benefited working families and Ford in recent years. Since the last round of contract talks, Ford has added roughly 10,000 jobs and last year posted a North American profit of $6.9 billion.
