United Auto Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, right, and Bob
King, UAW vice president. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Workers at Ford plants appear to be rejecting the deal worked out by the United Auto Workers (UAW) and The Ford Motor Company. As of this morning locals representing 12,800 workers have nixed the offer while only locals representing 5,312 members have voted for it according to information gathered by the Detroit Free Press.
This places the union in a possible conflict of interest.
The UAW has ownership interest in both GM and Chrysler, as provided in bankruptcy settlements earlier this year. Ford could argue that even though the shares of ownership are not directly held by the UAW, the UAW has a vested interested in making these two Ford competitors more profitable.
One could further argue there are two ways to quickly reduce Ford’s financial viability. One would be to make Ford less competitive, the other would be to drive them into bankruptcy. The first would increase Chrysler and GM’s market share. The later would unfairly benefit the UAW, it could be argued, as the UAW would be reasonable to assume they would gain ownership in Ford in the event of financial failure at Ford.
Conflict of interest is a charge that, if not handled decisively and quickly, can harm the credibility of any organization or company. Consumer backlash is typically substantial.
The important aspect, often forgotten, is that conflict of interest is not judged by the consumer based on fact. Instead customer base opinions on perception.
The UAW must not ignore their situation as they consider their role, and perception of outcomes, as they move forward through the contract process.
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