Union Votes Go Against Cuts at Ford

•http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/business/28ford.html?_r=1&ref=business

By :07 商务英语 A 班 1 号 鲜瑶 20070311201

• Many workers at the Ford Motor Company signal that they are unwilling to help the automaker cut its labor costs （劳动力支出） further, by voting against what would be the third round of concessions （让步、妥协） in the last two years.

• Members of at least five local chapters of the United Automobile Workers union have turned down the proposed （被提议的） changes, which include a six-year wage freeze for newly hired workers, some job-classification changes and benefits through 2015.

• Ford says it needs the modifications( 修订） to remain competitive with General Motors and Chrysler, whose workers agreed to similar deals in the spring.

• Only about a third of the locals representing Ford’s 41,000 union workers had finished voting by Tuesday. At Ford’s largest assembly plant （装配厂） , 92 percent voted against the deal, according to results posted （公布） on the Local 249 Web sites.

Ford had been making a case that it was doing better than General Motors and Chrysler, and as a result they have painted themselves into a corner （把他们自己陷入窘境）

The U.A.W.’s president, arguing that Ford is still heav

ily in debt and that workers could end up worse off （恶化） if they do not agree to the deal. If ratified （批准） , the deal gives all hourly workers a $1,000 bonus （奖金） in March and assigns new products to some plants. He emphasized that the U.A.W. retained its ability to strike if Ford were to propose more cuts or over issues unrelated to pay and benefits.

Background Information

• 有 83 年历史的福特 Rouge 制车中心，乃亨利 · 福特 (HernryFord) 理想中一处自给自足的车城，福特决心将它翻新重修，使它再次成为全球汽车工业景仰的标准。福特公司计划在与 UAW 举行会谈时提出其削减 30%劳动力支出的计划，福特公司希望此举能够提高公司在成本方面的竞争力。

综合外电 6 月 13 日报道，福特汽车公司（ Ford Motor Co. ）计划在与汽车工人联合会 (United Auto Workers ， UAW) 就劳资问题进行谈判时提出公司削减 30% 劳动力成本支出的计划，以提高公司对亚洲竞争对手的竞争力。据 . 福特公司希望通过削减劳动力成本支出提高公司在成本方面的竞争力，以完成公司 2009 年在北美地区实现盈利的目标。公司超过一半的劳动力费用为诸如健康保险之类的福利性支出。如果福特公司要完成削减 30%的目标，其每小时的工资将低于 49 美元，此举将被视为福特公司削减开支计划的重要一步。 2006 年福特公司由于营收减少、汽车生产部门成本增加以及北美地区公司重组造成的损失达 126 亿美元。

继通用汽车（ General Motors Corp. ）和克莱斯勒（ Chrysler ）之后，福特公司管理层也表示，鉴于公司负责的长期健康保险费用开支过于庞大，公司将考虑成立一个由 UAW 监管的信托基金对福利费用进行管理。

Words and Expression 1.Concession [n.] （让步 , 妥协）eg ： Employers made concessions to the workers in negotiation. 资方在与

工人谈判中作出让步。

• 2. Assembly plant （装配厂）

• 3. Post （公布）• eg ： Advertisements must not be posted on a wall. 禁止招贴广告。

• 4. Paint oneself into a corner （把自己陷入窘境）• eg ： They painted themselves into a corner when the market was boom

ing.• 银行在市场繁荣时将自己推入窘境

• 5. Worse off （恶化）