Word: reuthers
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...days leading up to the in evitable strike, the auto industry seemed to have only business-as-usual on its mind. The Ford Motor Co., which United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther had singled out as his initial strike target, was showing no interest in round-the-clock bargaining. At General Motors, where the threat of a strike was not so immediate, officials cheerfully predicted 1968-model sales of over 9,000,000 cars, up from an estimated 8,600,000 during the current model year. And throughout the industry, automakers went about introducing their new models (see following story...
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...
...60th birthday, United Auto Workers President Walter Reuther last week presided over a meeting of his lieutenants. He emerged with the information that Ford would be his union's "target company" in negotiations that, if they break down, could lead to a strike this week. Those negotiations almost certainly will break down, and the strike is more than likely to take place. "We made the decision not with our hearts but with our heads," Reuther said in explaining why the U.A.W. wouldn't tackle the giant, General Motors...
Despite such seeming largesse, the industry's offer could hardly be taken seriously except as an initial bargaining position. Almost completely ignored were such key Reuther demands as a guaranteed annual wage and parity between U.S. and Canadian workers. And the union leaders thought that the automakers were downright insulting in their suggestion to put a ceiling on U.A.W.'s cherished cost-of-living escalator clause...
...next act will come when time runs out on the current contracts next week. Following the script, Reuther will go before TV cameras to announce his "target company"-the one he will personally meet at the bargaining table to pound out a pattern for the rest of the industry. The probable choice is G.M., which has not had the dubious distinction since 1945. As for the distance G.M. might have to go, the U.A.W.'s brimful $67 million strike fund can last for nine weeks...