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Ford UAW Workes Authorize Strike As Contract Deadline Rapidly Approaches

With the September 14 deadline looming on the horizon, Ford auto workers are busy hammering out the details on a new labor agreement with the auto manufacturing giant. Despite the fact that Ford managed to retain a greater percentage of manufacturing workers over the last 3 years than cross-town rivals GM and Chrysler-Fiat, Ford’s UAW workers are angry and feel that they should receive some benefit from the company’s profitability over the last two years.

According to news reports, Ford’s UAW workers believe that their hard work and sacrifice were key to enabling Ford to avoid bankruptcy during the economic crisis of the last few years. While there is definitely some truth in this viewpoint, shrewd management and financial leveraging coupled with good fiscal practices were also large factors in Ford’s ability to survive the sharp economic downturn without government assistance.

Put another way, the fact that Ford has carefully managed labor costs helped them survive…workers get credit for doing good work, but financial responsibility was a major factor too. Yet, here we are a few days away from a deadline and the word “strike” has been uttered. What gives?