Focus on Ford

The Struggle continues

With a tentative Chrysler contract going through the ratification process now, the Big Three auto negotiations now shift to Ford. Many in the business press are hyping the poor financial situation at Ford and egging them on to go for even greater concessions than those given at GM and Chrysler. (See: Auto pact: the good, the bad and the ugly for our take on the GM settlement, that also seems to apply to the Chrysler deal)

There is no way to predict the outcome at Ford or if there will be a strike. Nor can anyone tell what kind of strike might happen, though the nature of the strikes at GM and Chrysler sure seem to indicate a quick one if at all. Regardless, the Ford workers still need and deserve our support. They still need messages and resolutions of support. And we still need to spread the word about the significance of building solidarity and awareness of their struggle. The solidarity of others in labor and the community and the willingness of the autoworkers themselves to fight is echoed in the Communist Manifest: “Now and then the workers are victorious, but only for a time. The real fruit of their battles lie not in the immediate result, but in the ever expanding union of the workers.”