UAW–Ford 'No' vote still echoes through plants

[Omaha Steve]

http://labornotes.org/blogs/2010/02/october-uaw%E2%80%93ford-%E2%80%9Cno-vote%E2%80%9D-still-echoes-through-plants

by Eric Truss and Ro... | Mon, 02/15/2010 - 4:53pm

October’s national “No” vote on concessions is still ricocheting off shop floors at Ford.

The scene is the UAW Local 600 Ford Rouge DDMP (vehicle frame) Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Management “creatively” proposes a shift that would hurt family life even without overtime! But workers beat it back.

Workers on day shift and afternoon shift were on four 10-hour shifts per week. Management wanted to make the afternoon shift (5:30 p.m to 4 a.m.) into a split shift and call it “C-crew.” This crew would still work four 10-hour days. But two of them would be on day shift Friday and Saturday, when regular day shift does not work. The C-crew would also work afternoons Sunday and Monday--all without overtime pay. This is because the concessions contract of 2009 mandated overtime pay only after 40 hours’ work, even on weekends.

For afternoon shift production workers who had been on four 10-hour shifts, this would mean losing Saturday and Sunday with their families.

Workers protested: “We don’t want a split shift. We want to keep our steady afternoon shift.” They got together to talk between shifts and all refused to volunteer for the new crew. So management threatened to force low-seniority afternoon workers onto the split shift.

Workers rallied against this, too. Some said if forced to a split shift, they would abandon their classifications and bump to days. This would force management to train replacements and cause other turmoil. About this time, union officials gave some support, but it was the workers who made their own points.

FULL story at link.

[Dinger]

1. I'm Curious Why Ford Seems To Have Survived The Auto Industry As Well As It Has

Haven't figured it out.