Rez, here are a couple of examples of the "union mentality" I think F4PNM was talking about, taken from another thread on this board. I agree with you though, corporate leadership in general is not very inspiring, especially in the airline industry.
Fastback...the two quotes that you have referenced deal with unorganized and de-centralized events. If the union were to organize such activities they might have to prove it wasn't illegal.....
Here is an article...
Ford CEO discusses Ford's future, the UAW and Toyota
January 4, 2007
By SARAH A. WEBSTER
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER
Ford Motor Co. will replace or significantly upgrade its entire lineup of domestic Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles by 2010, CEO Alan Mulally told a group of journalists during a private dinner in the company's Dearborn design studio Wednesday night.
That's an update from previous projections that Ford would update 70% of that lineup by 2008.
"We're really excited about it," Mulally said. "There's no reason why we can't really build cars and trucks that people really do prefer."
The earnest new executive sat between two of his lieutenants -- Derrick Kuzak, the new global product development chief at Ford, and Mark Fields, Ford's president of the Americas -- during the dinner.
The event was held in advance of next week's auto show in Detroit to give an update on the state of the ailing automaker as it heads into one of the most difficult years in its history.
Ford turns 104 years old this year and, aside from contract talks with the UAW, the automaker is projecting a decline in car and truck sales, negative cash flow and worse financial results this year than in 2006. Ford lost $7 billion through September and is expected to close out last year with as much as $10.5 billion in losses.
To get back on track, Ford is executing its Way Forward turnaround plan, which will eliminate 44,000 salaried and hourly jobs, close 16 plants and freshen its lineup. Under that plan, Ford is aiming for a small profit by 2009.
To get through the tough times, Ford recently put together a $25.45-billion financing deal that uses nearly all the automaker's assets, including its plants and trademarks such as the blue oval, as collateral.
But this high-stakes, drawn-out turnaround plan has led some experts to conclude that Ford's situation is the most delicate among Detroit's automakers. Several of those experts have said the Ford family might lose control of the company to lenders if the big financing gamble doesn't pay off or eventually file for bankruptcy.
Mulally, though, made it clear that the Ford board -- and especially the Ford family -- supported the financing deal. The Ford family has two voting and one non-voting seat on the board. Executive Chairman Bill Ford and his cousin Edsel Ford have a full seat on the board, while William Clay Ford is director emeritus and can attend meetings.
"They couldn't have been more supportive," Mulally said. "It starts with the board."
He said Ford was making great progress toward integrating its engineering systems around the world, which are used to design and manufacture new products, and he suggested that Ford would have a deal to sell its ultra-luxury brand Aston Martin by the end of 2007.
He also talked about his approach to the UAW and contract talks.
"I respect the union," Mulally said. "I'm not after the union. The only thing I care about is the competitiveness of Ford. ... We need to improve our competitiveness, and we need to do it together."
But one issue kept coming up: Toyota Motor Corp., and Mulally's profound admiration for the Japanese company that keeps conquering customers and market share worldwide.
"I've learned a lot from them," said Mulally, a longtime airline executive who is new to the auto industry.
Mulally recently met with Toyota executives in Japan for about two hours, an exchange that sparked off speculation around the world about whether the two companies might work together in some new way in the future. Mulally said the session was part of a meet-and-greet tour he's been conducting with all of the world's automakers, and he's already met with General Motors Corp., DaimlerChrysler AG and BMW. He said he's still trying to get an appointment with Honda.
Mulally said Ford and Toyota talked about a variety of mutual interests and noted that Ford is always looking at areas for collaboration, "especially advanced technologies," he said.
During the more than 2-hour dinner, Mulally was candid in his assessment of Ford's situation and strategies.
Mulally said he "liked Zephyr," before it was renamed "MKZ," and expressed his thoughts on how well Detroit has dealt with competition from overseas.
The situation, he noted, "has been going on for a lot of years -- not like four -- like 45," he emphasized.
Fields was also brutally honest during the session, noting how Ford did not hit its target to stabilize or improve market share for 2006.
"We didn't achieve that," he said.
Still, he said that 2006 was a productive year for the company and Ford has laid the groundwork for its turnaround plan.
"Despite the numbers, last year was a year of significant progress for us," he said. "It's like building a house. We built the foundation last year."
Contact SARAH A. WEBSTER at 313-222-5394 or [email protected].
Copyright © 2006 Detroit Free Press Inc.
if(typeof gcion_enable_bt != 'undefined') { if(gcion_enable_bt) { document.writeln(''); }}if(typeof gcion_enable_bt != 'undefined') { if(gcion_enable_bt) { var gciYear = 2007; DM_addToLoc("zipcode", escape(s.prop30)); DM_addToLoc("age", escape((gciYear-s.prop31))); DM_addToLoc("gender", escape(s.prop32)); if(typeof OAS_sitepage != 'undefined') { var gci_ssts=OAS_sitepage; var SSTS_NAMES = new Array('Section','SubSection','Topic','SubTopic'); gci_ssts=gci_ssts.replace(/\/index\.htm.*$/,''); gci_ssts=gci_ssts.replace(/\@.*$/,''); if(!gci_ssts.match(/umbrella/)) { gci_ssts=gci_ssts.replace(/^.*\.com\//,''); gci_ssts=gci_ssts.split("/"); var gci_sstslen=gci_ssts.length; for(var i=0; i