Some UAW Workers Want Ford Health Vote Recount

Some United Auto Workers members want a recount of a vote that narrowly approved an agreement between Ford Motor Co. and the union that requires active workers and retirees to pay more for their health care.

The UAW announced just before Christmas that hourly workers for the automaker had approved the deal by a 51 percent majority. The agreement still needs approval in federal court.
"I am afraid that members are going to turn their backs on the union," Ron Lare, a member at UAW Local 600 in Dearborn, told the Detroit Free Press for a Saturday story. "Several people have called me, union reformers, to say they would like to protest this vote count."

Dearborn-based Ford, which has been struggling with skyrocketing health care costs, said the deal will save it $850 million annually and will shave about $5 billion off its long-term retiree health care liability.

Last month, hourly workers at Detroit-based General Motors Corp. approved a similar agreement by a 61 percent majority. The UAW also has begun negotiating a similar agreement with DaimlerChrysler AG.

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