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Ford workers at 3 factories reject UAW’s concession deal

Ninety-two percent of the nearly 4,000 union workers at Ford’s assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo., rejected the UAW accord. Ninety-two percent of the nearly 4,000 union workers at Ford’s assembly plant in Claycomo, Mo., rejected the UAW accord. (Charles Riedel/ Associated Press)
By Keith Naughton
Bloomberg News / October 27, 2009

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SOUTHFIELD, MICH. - Ford Motor Co. workers at three factories with more than 5,600 employees rejected concessions that the United Auto Workers granted to the carmaker’s US competitors, union officials said.

Workers casting ballots at a Livonia, Mich., transmission plant voted 52 percent against the accord yesterday, while 92 percent rejected the deal at the Ford Escape factory in Claycomo, Mo. Members at a Plymouth, Mich., parts factory voted it down last week.

“It’s just a very difficult time, and the concessions we gave in February were still fresh in people’s minds,’’ said UAW Local 182 President Steve Zimmerla, who endorsed the latest deal at the Livonia plant with 1,690 hourly workers.

“The fact that we weren’t promised any additional work also weighed heavy on the membership.’’

Ford, the only major US automaker to avoid bankruptcy, seeks concessions as US industry sales have fallen every month except August since 2007.

UAW vice president Bob King visited the Claycomo plant near Kansas City yesterday to promote the deal, calling for a six-year ban on strikes over wages and benefits and a pay freeze for new hires.

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.