It's amazing that Ford is now training some white collar workers (designers) to fill in for union workers who may go out on strike in the fall. How can this be going on?
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Above item not true.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2023/08/21/are-salaried-workers-required-to-cross-a-picket-line-during-a-strike/70620668007/
I think the OP is talking about CAD designers and other unionized PD jobs. There are not enough white collar people in a plant to run the place.
if you look at history, this is how the firestone tire fiasco started. untrained white collar guys who thought they were smart working the machines got dust powder in between the tire layers, making them prone to fail. look it up. you think we got quality problems now, watch out below, boys.
@cgh+1o1FIEno - Interesting comment. I don't know if you are correct or not with your comment that "the chance of a strike is over 90%". But, you also make the comment that "A strike will ki-l us. Ford has way too much debt. We are one quarter away from being insolvent." I personally do not have a guesstimate on your assumptions and I am not challenging your opinions either.
So, just trying to think it through, if your assumptions/comments are correct - then there are 2 likely scenarios:
(1) Ford management and the "actual" Ford family (not the Ford salaried employees who think they are family too) settle for whatever the demands are to avoid a strike. Ford management knows it will buy them a few years minimum (to keep their million dollar salaries intact for a few years longer) and the "Ford" family keeps their namesake company for at least a few years longer. How would it work - the company can't cost save enough money for this type of agreement through material cost savings or supplier concessions. So the bulk of the funds necessary would come from Ford salaried workforce reductions and/or transfer of work to LCC's. It is that simple. And the company is already preparing for that - so they are not caught off guard after the fact. They just step on the gas with their current plans.
(2) The union actually strikes (and for long enough to cause actual financial damage). Why would the union care about financials or insolvency? There is a great blueprint from 2008 timeframe for the union. The Big 3 even opened their "books" to the union back in 2008 to show how bad off their financials were at the time. The union didn't care about the financials. The union still had a strike against GM (I can't remember if there was a strike at Chrysler also). The result was insolvency. You would think that would be bad for the union. Wrong - very wrong - extremely wrong! The companies were bailed out, the union did fairly well (they even ended up with a seat on the board of directors). I'm sure the union remembers that strategy well and that the politicians won't do anything much different this time around either. In fact, if anything the union and the politicians have already been working on this scenario for years behind the scenes getting prepared for any future strikes (and why wouldn't they - it worked out pretty good for them the first time they did it in 2008). Some opposing politicians might "talk" about bailouts, socialist economies, etc. But THEY WON'T DO ANYTHING besides talk. But the union will come out fine, and they know it. Would the Ford family lose - possibly. But they may already be anticipating this outcome (interpret that to mean that they do), and they are already greasing the skids with the political power structure to ensure they come out not losing their shirts either. Will the salaried workforce lose in this scenario - Oh yea, same outcome for salaried employees as scenario #1.
Don't kid yourself, Ford has been adding unskilled workers to it's salaried rolls for a long time, thru contract workers and DEI objectives. These low paid people would love to make an hourly rate. This generation of workers could care less about a UAW strike.
Too funny....How many vehicles could actually be built by a bunch of salaried workers putting in a solid 0.75 hours of actual, physical work? The first 3 weeks will be spent trying to figure out what a torque wrench is and complaining about how far they have to walk from the parking lot. Afterwards, 4 hours per day would be spent whining on this site (6 if they are from IT); 1 hour spenting looking at the Internet (social media, shopping, etc). And they would have to have weeks of meetings first to discuss it.
I can just envision a bunch of cars with 3 tires, no back seat, and half an engine.
I could see Ford using salaried workers to fill in during a strike and then fire them after the strike. That's the "Ford Family" way.
The companies and the union workers are making strike preps .
I think the chance of a strike is over 90%.
Look at the recent events in the Stellantis negotiations.
A strike will ki-l us. Ford has way too much debt. We are one quarter away from being insolvent.
Don’t buy or lease any vehicle made during the strike period.
Imagine DF and BF on the line?
You haven't been around long. This has been standard practice for 50 years or more. If the strike does happen, you will be told to go to a location away from the plant and they will bus you in.
Doubt a strike will happen.
Don't cross a picket line. We don't have many labor rights but you cannot be retaliated against for refusing to cross a picket line.