Ford, union poised for talks finale

Negotiators have general agreements; setting strike deadline likely next big step. 

Bryce G. Hoffman / The Detroit News

Talks between the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. continued Monday as UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said his team is "getting geared up" for the final push to hammer out a contract with the last of Detroit’s three automakers.

The union did not bring its full national negotiating team to the table Monday, and Gettelfinger has not formally joined the talks, sources familiar with the situation said.

While both sides privately expressed hope that a deal could be reached this week, they also stressed that the situation remains fluid.

The next major move is likely to be the announcement of a strike deadline by the UAW, which could come as early as today, according to one source.

No one thinks a strike is likely at this point.

Ford and the UAW have been talking formally and informally for two months, and there is broad agreement on much of the contract framework, though gaps still exist on some key issues.

"The strike target, if it’s set, is simply meant as a final deadline," said Harley Shaiken, a labor expert at the University of California, Berkeley, who has advised the UAW in the past.

"It isn’t theater," he said. "It adds discipline to the negotiations and it gives them a goal to work toward."

Ford, which lost $12.6 billion last year, is expected to press for more favorable contract terms than either General Motors Corp. or Chrysler LLC received from the UAW.

"We have some concerns about Ford, there’s no question about that," Gettelfinger said Monday during an interview with Paul W. Smith on WJR Radio. "We’re looking forward to being able to get that one behind us."

The Dearborn automaker wants better funding terms for a company-financed, union-run trust, known as a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association, or VEBA, that would pay for retiree health care.

Ford also wants a broader definition of "non-core" jobs than was negotiated with GM and Chrysler. That system allows the automakers to fill some non-assembly jobs with lower-wage workers.

And Ford wants more restrictions on the jobs bank program that continues to pay idled workers.

Ford is prepared to offer more in return, including a more generous bonus program that would reward hourly workers according to the same criteria as salaried employees.

More significantly, the company is prepared to keep some factories open that have already been marked for closure if management gets what it wants from the UAW.