FOLLOW-UP
CONFERENCE
Opportunity in Crisis Can successful labor negotiations at a car company demonstrate possibilities for orchestras? A provocative session at the League’s 2012 National Conference provided some answers.
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once-thriving industry confronting a crashing economy. A complex profession looking to reinvent itself to remain relevant in rapidly shifting social realities. An organization that relies on the skills and smarts of dedicated employees struggling to balance financial pragmatism with the needs of its workforce. Any of these statements could be used to describe America’s orchestras of today, but these are in fact just some of the issues that have roiled the Ford Motor Company—and the American automobile industry as a whole. But through it all, the United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Company have achieved a new level of constructive and collaborative labor relations. Sacrifice and flexibility were required from everyone, and the benefits seem amply evident. In the opening session at the League of American Orchestras’ 2012 National Conference in Dallas on June 6, orchestras heard key lessons in what it takes to build strong relations from the union and management leaders in the forefront of this effort: Marty Mulloy, vice president of labor affairs at Ford Motor Company, and Jimmy Settles Jr., vice president of the United Auto Workers. Rather than offer prepared speeches, the two men engaged in a spirited dialogue whose form mirrored the sort of discussions they used in their negotiations. League President and CEO Jesse Rosen introduced the pair, saying, “I imagine a lot of you are wondering, what does this have to do with us? Ford makes cars; we create
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the ephemeral experience of music. The auto industry over the past several decades has faced significant challenges that parallel some of our own conditions, like changing markets, increased competition, a volatile economy, and environmental changes that require substantial adaptation. What is relevant to us is that management and labor at Ford built a relationship that allowed them to meet these external challenges. Civil and candid dialogue around
“The odds on Wall Street and in Detroit were that Ford Motor Company would go bankrupt in 2007. We sat down with the United Auto Workers and said, ‘We have to do things differently.’ ” —Marty Mulloy, vice president of labor affairs, Ford Motor Company tough issues, that’s the work that’s asked of every one of us this week. And to do this we have to put the interests of our orchestras ahead of any single constituent interest. We have to move from our own points of resistance to considering new possibilities. And finally, we have to engage. We’ve got to participate together. Today, Ford is thriving. It didn’t happen through sheer luck, but rather through cultural change, long-term strategy that required a shared understanding and shared sacrifice, and holding to a higher ground course over a long period of time.”
MARTY MULLOY: It’s a great honor being here with Jimmy Settles. What we’re going to do is have a bit of a dialogue. This isn’t a stiff speech, we just want to talk to you a little bit about the relationship we have at Ford, UAW, and how we do business together. For those of you who might be unfamiliar with Ford Motor Company, we were founded in 1903. Henry Ford was named by Time magazine as the industrialist of the twentieth century. We were organized by the UAW in 1941. That’s actually four years after UAW organized at General Motors and Chrysler. Henry Ford had a paternalistic view of his employees. He really tried to do the right thing. But as time wore on in his career we had some real difficulties at Ford. There was one really violent exchange back then that changed the DNA of Ford Motor Company and got us to asking the question, do we really treat our union brothers with respect? JIMMY SETTLES JR: I’m a fourthgeneration Ford Motor Company employee. My dad was hired right after the union won recognition at Ford; my dad was also a trade unionist. It’s funny—my dad got hired, and then he got his dad hired. And some years later I got hired there, worked a summer to go to college. That was 44 years ago. I’m also really proud: I have a son who started working for Ford Motor Company this year. He’s an engineer, he’s on the opposite side, but he’s still with Ford. I guess the numberone question I had was, “What took you so long for the UAW to organize Ford?” It was fairly obvious. Ford Motor Company back during that time was very active in the community. Ford—you’d go anyplace in the Detroit metro area and you’d see, whether it’s the arts or sports or anything else, Ford was an integral part. As a matter of fact, Ford started the first symphony
FALL 2012