DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co.'s rank-and-file union members rejected a concessions agreement, leaving the auto maker at risk to higher costs compared with competitors Chrysler Group LLC and General Motors Co. Although some locals are still voting through Sunday, the United Auto Workers national leadership has accepted the defeat, said three union sources who asked not to be identified since they don't officially speak for the UAW. The leadership is now reviewing other options, these people said. UAW President Ron Gettelfinger told Dow Jones Newswires on Friday he will not continue bargaining or conduct a re-vote. Ford will now have to wait for any formal changes until 2011 when the current contract expires. "This was a tough sell from the beginning," said Harley Shaiken, a professor at the University of California at Berkeley who specializes in labor issues. "Ford was caught in between of doing better and advertising that, and the UAW already giving Ford concessions." He said both Ford and the UAW failed to clearly define the future so workers, already pinched by the economic recessions, decided to vote against more cuts.[Read more...]