Ford, UAW deal outlook good
Ford and the UAW are in the final stages of an agreement, with workers' approval of the deal the last thing pending. Alisa Roth reports the new contracts draw similarities to those struck with GM and Chrysler.
A member of the United Auto Workers enters a union hall near Chrysler's Belvidere Assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
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Scott Jagow: One bright spot for GM is that UAW workers have approved a new contract. So have union workers at Chrysler. The last holdout is Ford -- there's a deal, but workers still have to agree to it. Alisa Roth has more.
Alisa Roth: Ford is in the worst financial shape of the Big Three. So in a lot of ways, the UAW negotiations were more critical for it than for the other two.
But leaders of the union locals got their first look at the new contract this week, and they're enthusiastic. The question is whether the rank and file will be as excited.
Harley Shaiken studies labor relations at the University of California Berkeley:
Harley Shaiken: No doubt there'll be those who are angry or who vote no, but my sense is many Ford workers think that this is a very good deal, particularly given the circumstances.
The general framework of the new contract is the same as GM and Chrysler's: It includes a two-tiered wage system and a union-administered trust fund to pay for health care.
But Ford is promising to invest in almost all U.S. factories. And more radically, the contract gives the union a chance to be involved in discussions about new products and other company decisions.
In New York, I'm Alisa Roth for Marketplace.
