Word: reuther
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Eleventh-Hour Appeal. Reuther's men seemed scarcely more troubled than the companies. At Ford's River Rouge plant, workers showed up for their last shift in a festive mood that resulted in several stoppages on the assembly lines. The first of the U.A.W.'s 160,000 Ford employees walked off more than eleven hours before their old contract expired. The strike was almost anticlimactic, even though it closed down 93 Ford plants in 25 states. Reuther announced the walkout shortly after midnight, then went home to nurse a case of laryngitis he had picked...
...part, Reuther insisted that wages must "reflect productivity," refused to budge on his money demands unless Ford agreed to turn over to him its figures on output per man-hour. It was largely Reuther's desire to get this information that inspired him to make an eleventh-hour appeal to submit the dispute to arbitration. A three-man panel, Reuther suggested, would impose a binding settlement after taking into account "productivity and profitability," as well as "the equity received by Ford executives and stockholders." Dismissing such considerations as "beyond the scope of collective bargaining," Chief Ford Negotiator Malcolm Denise...
...even more persistent Reuther theme was that the Big Three automakers were engaged in a "collusive conspiracy" masterminded by G.M. What particularly bothered the U.A.W. chieftain was the refusal by G.M. and Chrysler to extend their union contracts be yond last week's expiration date. While assuring the union that his company had "no intention to lock out its employees," G.M. Vice President Louis G. Seaton declared flatly: "There is no possibility of settlement. Therefore we will not extend the contract...
...Reuther knows only too well, the lack of contracts with G.M. and Chrysler frees those companies to hire and fire at will. It also suspends payroll deductions for union dues, enables the companies to ignore seniority rights and normal grievance arbitration procedures. Beyond that, by making the U.A.W.'s constitutional ban against wildcat strikes inoperative, the contract expirations will no doubt encourage union militants to stage local walkouts. Any production curtailment at G.M. or Chrysler would ease one of the main pressures on Ford to come to terms...
Sticky Issues. What seems like airy nonchalance on the part of the Big Three may actually reflect their satisfaction over Reuther's ticklish position. Nonetheless, an end to the industry's labor strife seems uncomfortably far off, one reason being that the union, as G.M.'s Seaton complains, has yet "to put priorities on its mountain of demands." Besides his wage demands, Reuther has raised such sticky issues as a "guaranteed annual income." And even when a settlement with Ford is finally achieved, the U.A.W. will have to deal with Chrysler and G.M.-where strikes could also...