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Second-tier UAW workers promoted for first time after Ford hits quota

The United Auto Workers put out a statement on Friday that 55 Ford workers chosen by seniority would be moved from the Tier 2, entry-level pay rate of around $19 per hour to the Tier 1, non-entry-level rate of about $28 per hour. One of the stipulations in the 2011 UAW-Ford agreement was that only 20-percent of the total hourly workforce could be paid the Tier 2 wages agreed upon in 2007; after that, those workers had to be moved to Tier 1. Even so, the new Tier 1 status makes them less expensive to Ford than veteran Tier 1 workers because they receive fewer benefits. However, Automotive News had reported that same day that Ford was 69 workers shy of the limit, and when AN asked Ford about the situation Ford said it had "some room" on the entry-level roster. If workers do move to the higher pay grade, it will be the first time that's happened since the two-tier system was agreed. But it sounds like there's going to be some haggling between the UAW and Ford before that happens. Ford is the only one of the Detroit 3 automakers to have to work with a cap, since it didn't go through bankruptcy proceedings during The Great Recession; General Motors and Chrysler jettisoned the cap in 2009. GM is said to have 16 percent of its hourly workers at Tier 2 while Chrysler has 42 percent, but Fiat-Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has long been opposed to the two-wage system. The UAW is preparing for its 2015 negotiations with the US automakers. It wants to eliminate the difference in pay by going to the higher scale, if there is a consensus among automakers it seems to be that they also want a single wage, but less than the higher scale, with the addition of profit-based bonuses. The recent statement from the labor union is below. UAW President Dennis Williams and UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles announced today that the union is delivering on its promise to convert workers DETROIT, Jan. 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- UAW President Dennis Williams and UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles announced today that the union is delivering on its promise to convert workers making entry-level wages to traditional employees. "The 2011 UAW-Ford agreement allows for a contractual limit of entry-level employees. Once that threshold is surpassed, entry-level employees convert by seniority to 'regular, non-entry level employment.' At this time, fifty-five UAW-Ford workers will receive the wage increases, which put them in the category of non entry-level employment.

President Trump to visit Michigan on Wednesday to attend auto-related event

President Trump will visit the Detroit area on Wednesday for the first time since taking office, the Detroit News reports this morning, to meet with officials of automakers, suppliers and unions, and to attend a rally of autoworkers. Trump might use the event to announce his intentions to roll back fuel-economy standards for cars and trucks. The automakers agreed to the standards, which set a goal of a fleet average 54.5 miles per gallon by the year 2025, under President Obama, but they have lobbied Trump to repeal them. "This is a continuation of a dialogue with the auto industry leaders, and also going back and reconnecting with a lot of the people who elected him," Chris Liddell told the News. Liddell is former chief financial officer of General Motors and now assistant to the president for strategic initiatives at the White House. Trump might also use Wednesday's visit to advocate the House Republicans' proposed replacement for the Affordable Care Act. Later Wednesday, he will attend a campaign-style rally in Nashville, and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has said the president intends to hit the road to sell the American public on the Obamacare replacement plan. The auto industry has been high on Trump's agenda - and a focus of his rhetoric to return manufacturing jobs and facilities to the United States. During his first week in office, Trump met privately at the White House with the CEOs of Ford, GM and Fiat Chrysler, and GM CEO and Chairman Mary Barra and Ford CEO Mark Fields are members of Trump economic advisory groups. He has criticized Ford and GM for making cars in Mexico and took credit when Ford scrapped plans for a new plant there. Related video: Government/Legal Green Chrysler Ford GM Fuel Efficiency Detroit Michigan

You can now order Domino's pizza from your Sync-equipped Ford

The news keeps pouring in from the Consumer Electronics Show now underway in Las Vegas, and the latest comes from Ford which has announced two new apps for its Sync AppLink system.
First up is a cooperative app launched by Ford together with Domino's Pizza that lets drivers of the former order pizza from the latter right from their car. The service allows those with Ford Sync AppLink in their car or truck and are registered with a Domino's Pizza Profile to place an order for their favorite pie using Dearborn's voice-recognition software for either pickup or delivery. Save your information in your Pizza Profile and it'll be sent to your house without even the push of a button, which strikes us as awesome a use of technology as we've ever seen.