By Gary Walkowicz
Bargaining Committeeman
Dearborn Truck Plant
UAW Local 600
Ford workers made it clear that we did not want any more concessions. But the top leadership of the UAW did not listen to the membership. They didn’t do what we wanted them to do, so now WE are going to have to speak up for ourselves.
Here are the concessions that they want us to accept:
---No right to strike for the next 6 years for any wage and benefit improvements. In other words, even to get back any of the raises, bonuses, COLA, or break time that we have lost, we couldn’t use the threat of a strike. An arbitrator would decide. And the arbitrator is allowed to keep our wages and benefits comparable to all other auto companies, including the transplants. What good is a union without the right to strike?
---Freeze new hire wages for 6 years. New hires already will be working for half our pay, and now they want us to agree to hold them back even further. If we do this, what will the new hires do in the future when they are voting on our wages, benefits and pensions???
---Consolidate and eliminate more skilled trades jobs.
They are going to try to tell us these are not concessions. What do you think?
They want us to believe that the company is promising more work, but most of these promises are the same promises they made last February and in 2007. Every contract, they promise job security, and every contract we have fewer jobs.
They think they can get us to vote "Yes" with a $1,000 bonus? What a slap in the face! We probably lost $10,000 from the last contract concessions alone. And now they want us to give up our right to fight for any raises for the next 6 years. All for a $1,000 bonus? Please tell us this is a joke.
Every day Ford is bragging about how well they are doing, but they want us to believe that Ford is hurting. Well, Ford workers are hurting for real. We can’t give up any more.
Every time we have given up concessions, they have come back for more.
The only way to stop concessions is to say "No!" Once And For All!
Gary Walkowicz
Bargaining Committeeman
Dearborn Truck Plant
UAW Local 600
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VIDEO: Jerry Harrington, Niels Chapman & Gary Walkowicz (2:46) address the 2007 UAW Bargaining Convention regarding Two-Tier, Organizing & Fighting Concessions: