Although both hourly and salaried workers were asked to make sacrifices during Ford's turnaround efforts late last decade, blue collar employees felt they were treated unfairly when Ford reinstated pay raises and retirement-plan contributions for white collar workers in 2010. Ford has not increased wages for its hourly employees since 2003.
UAW president Bob King claims Ford's hourly workers have each given up between $7,000 and $30,000 in benefits since the start of Ford's restructuring efforts. However, the UAW's latest contract with Ford established profit-sharing bonuses, which netted hourly employees an average check of $6,200 earlier this year.
