The union members of Ford Motor Co. voted down a concessions agreement over the weekend. Since UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has said that he will not continue bargaining and will be opting out for a re-vote then Ford be forced to wait for formal changes in 2011 when the current contract expires. Ford had been hoping to bargain with UAW leadership in order to win back more concessions that would put it in line with what has been given to rivals GM and Chrysler. Ford CEO Alan Mulally said that Ford wanted to “get back to the pattern” established by its crosstown rivals. Last March, Ford won concessions from the UAW but these were far less than what was provided to GM and Chrysler that went through bankruptcy restructuring. This pushed Ford to return to the bargaining table with UAW leadership late this summer.
