Seeing a Need to Innovate, UAW Again Turns to Ford
Throughout its history, the United Auto Workers union has turned to Ford Motor Co. for innovative help at the bargaining table. This year is no exception.</br></br>The decision by the UAW's leadership to pick Ford as the "target" company in this year's contract negotiations with the auto industry's Big Three reflects a long-standing belief within the union that Ford is the most innovative of the companies when it comes to labor relations.</br></br>Ernest Lofton, the UAW vice president in charge of the Ford negotiations, often has noted that the union has turned to Ford "when there's a principle involved."</br></br>In 1949, it was Ford that agreed to set up the industry's first pension program for UAW members. Six years later, the union again turned to Ford to create the industry's first Supplemental Unemployment Benefits program. And in 1987, Ford agreed to the job security program, known as Guaranteed Employment Numbers, that provided continuous employment for UAW members who otherwise might have been laid off during the life of the contract.</br></br>The decision to pick Ford also was based, in part, on the fact that UAW President Stephen Yokich and Peter Pestillo, Ford's executive vice president for corporate relations, have an extraordinarily close relationship. The two men still regularly play golf together, a practice they began years ago when Yokich was head of the union's Ford Department.