Contract talks between the United Auto Workers and Detroit’s three automakers kicked off with the union president departing from the traditionally friendly tone by telling Ford executives that workers want a bigger share of the companies’ record profits.
While Ford executives talked often about working together at a ceremony Monday, UAW President Gary Jones emphasized that he wants to end concessions and the companies outsourcing jobs to countries with lower-cost labor.
“We will protect our work, our jobs and our way of life,” Jones said. “We expect an agreement that recognizes our contributions.”
Bargaining over new four-year contracts between the Detroit automakers and the union representing 142,000 workers nationwide started Monday with a ceremonial handshake at Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan, headquarters.
Ford Motor Co., Executive Chairman Bill Ford opens contract talks with the United Auto Workers, Monday, July 15, 2019, in Dearborn, Mich. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)The two sides have been at relative peace during recent good times, but that could change as auto sales and profits begin to slow, health care costs rise and a labor cost gap widens with workers at foreign-owned assembly plants in the South.