Ford has presented a 14-page initial proposal to the United Auto Workers for a new labour pact covering wages and benefits for 95,000 workers at Ford and Visteon, the Detroit News said.

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Citing UAW officials who read the proposal, the newspaper said Ford did not list specific demands, but outlined its business conditions, competitive issues and general objectives but made clear that it is determined to carry out its turnaround plan outlined in 2002 to restore profits and boost sales.


Ford’s “revitalisation plan” calls for the closure of US assembly plants in St. Louis and Edison, New Jersey, and two smaller US parts plants by mid-decade, along with the elimination of 12,000 hourly positions in North American, the Detroit News noted.


Specific bargaining issues such as wages, health care coverage, pension, job security and plant closings will be hammered out in more than a dozen sub-committees, the paper added.


The Detroit News said DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group, meanwhile, doesn’t plan to present a formal, written proposal, but made a presentation on July 28 outlining a desire to become more competitive to match industry benchmarks on productivity and staffing.

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At the meeting attended by bargaining leadership of both sides, Chrysler vice president John Franciosi made a presentation of Chrysler’s bargaining priorities that included improving quality, labour costs and productivity, the paper reported, adding that spokesman Dan Bodene said Chrysler wants to close “the competitive gap issues with benchmark companies,” notably foreign car makers with US assembly plants, such as Toyota and Honda.


General Motors has not submitted a formal proposal to the UAW, company and union officials told the Detroit News.


Analysts told the newspaper Ford and Chrysler, in not laying out specific demands, may be manoeuvring to become the UAW’s first bargaining target. Labour experts reportedly said that, with GM as the current favourite because of its comparatively strong financial position, the other two companies are trying to woo the union to pick them as the lead company.


Each of the car makers wants to be the lead company to negotiate a deal best tailored to their needs, the Detroit News said, noting that the remaining firms are often forced to match the “pattern,” or face a strike.


The newspaper said the companies and the UAW are working against a September 14 deadline and noted the union often picks a lead company around or after Labour Day.