WBEZ, October 19, 2011, Wednesday

WBEZ

October 19, 2011, Wednesday

WBEZ (full article)

United Auto Workers vote 'yes' to Ford contract

Richard Hurd, Professor of Labor Studies at Cornell University, said he's not surprised at all in the variation between plants on the vote. He said typically in votes for or against a contract, a local union leader holds a lot of sway.

Regarding the case of the Chicago plants' rejection, he thought it could go deeper.

"It could be that there are tensions in the facility and the vote reflects things other than the workers particular view towards the terms of the agreement. There may be bad relations between the current plant manager and workers, or between supervisors and workers. So workers less happy with situation will be more likely to vote against a contract," Hurd said.