Located on a mile-long tributary of the Detroit river, the Rouge once employed 100,000 men who built every Ford manufactured in the US when it opened in 1928.

SERIES How Detroit lost its dominance in the global car industry Friday: Photo Journal Tuesday: Lean Production Key facts: Global Car Industry Guide to globalisation

Henry Ford, the inventor of mass production, aimed to control every aspect of the production process - and he didn’t like unions.

Even when other big companies like GM recognised the union after a bitter sit-down strike in 1937, Henry Ford vowed to close his plant rather than give in - and his security staff beat up union organisers who came near the plant.

It was only in 1941, when the Federal government intervened - and his wife threatened to leave him - that Henry Ford finally recognised the union.

‘Meltdown’

Now, that bitter legacy may come back to haunt Ford as it enters a key round of contract with the unions, with a deadline of 15 September.

“Ford is going through a meltdown and will ask the union for deep concessions in pay and benefits during contract talks set to begin this summer,” says Sean McAlinden, chief economist for the Center for Automotive Research.

Ford workers at River Rouge explain why they won’t give up their benefits without a fight In pictures

Ford, like GM and Chrysler, has been losing market share to Japanese companies such as Toyota in the US market for three decades.

But recently its position has become critical.

Ford lost $12.7bn last year, the largest annual loss in its history, and says it will not be profitable until 2010 - despite cutting 35,000 jobs.

Mark Fields, president of Ford North America, says there is no longer any place to hide. “We face competition in every segment and in every market,” he says.

Legacy costs

Ford and GM are at a crucial disadvantage compared with Toyota. They are burdened with the extra costs of paying benefits to all of their retired workers, who now far outnumber those still working for the company.

These legacy costs, which include both pension and retirement health care plans, cost the companies billions of dollars a year. Health care costs alone could add an additional $1,700 to the cost of each vehicle they make, Mr McAlinden estimates.

According to labour historian Nelson Licthenstein, when these contracts were first negotiated, UAW president Walter Reuther warned car companies in the 1940s that they were courting trouble by making long-term promises they might not be able to keep, and urged them to support national health insurance instead.

Walter Reuther won the battle for union recognition from GM in 1937

But in the end Reuther signed the “treaty of Detroit,” in which GM and Ford gave workers health and pension benefits and wage adjustments in return for industrial peace.

Now GM is down to 80,000 US workers, compared with 450,000 25 years ago.

And the companies say they cannot afford to pay the pension and health care costs of their 500,000 retirees.

Cuts in the workforce

When Ford and GM began to get into trouble in the 1980s and 1990s, the union signed away some of its gains in order to keep the companies afloat.

But with US workers having no right to state-financed health benefits until they reach 65, there is resistance from the rank-and-file workers to any more concessions.

Jerry Sullivan, the president of Local 600, reckons that this will be an even tougher sell than in 2003 - when earlier UAW health concessions were accepted by the workforce by a vote of only 51%-49%.

Some rank-and-file activists, like Ron Lare, argue that the UAW actually lost the Ford vote over these concessions, and are pursuing the matter with the union.

Ford built a modern truck plant on the site of River Rouge,

Mr Sullivan agrees that the workers are tired of “give, give, give” and says “it is no good cutting if you can’t make cars people want”.

But he hopes that the commitment made by Bill Ford to build a new factory on the site of River Rouge - with an on-site museum on Ford’s history - will save his workers.

Company break-up

The financial community is closely watching the union battle with Ford and GM.

Mark Oline, of Fitch Ratings, says that both companies need concessions on legacy costs if they are to survive the next two to three years.

Toyota’s younger workforce costs less in benefits

His company now rates their corporate bonds as junk bonds, signalling to investors that there is a significant risk that they will default on their borrowings.

“It is going to be a difficult year for the Big Three automakers,” he says. “They have to continue to cut costs, but they also need to invest in models to increase their revenues.”

The continuing battles over these huge, uncosted liabilities to pay health care costs far into the future may be one reason that so far, no private equity firm has tried to break up Ford and GM - although both companies have assets worth 10 times their stock market price.

Union blues

However, some rank-and-file activists are not sure the union - or the workers - have the stomach for a fight.

The UAW is losing members fast, dropping from 1.6 million to 550,000 in the last two decades, and may be forced to merge with another union to survive.

Dean Braid says Flint is now an industrial wasteland

And many activists, Mr Lare, and Dean Braid, a former Buick worker in Flint who was laid off in 1999, have taken the generous company redundancy buyouts.

Dean, who was active in the rank-and-file movement in the 1980s and 1990s, says that such organisations is not as strong as it used to be - and says that the lack of union democracy has disillusioned workers.

Alienated workers

Sociologist Ruth Milkman is not surprised by the workers’ attitudes.

When she studied the GM plant in Linden, NJ, in the 1980s, she was struck by the worker’s hostility to the company and to their jobs - and by the alacrity with which they accepted company buyouts.

Gary Cowger, GM global vice-president for manufacturing and labor, is confident that the company can reach a deal this year.

“We have to get more concessions, but we have been working constructively with the union over the past few years, and have already reached a deal to take $15bn out of our health care costs,” he says.

He is clear, however, that GM will continue to cut jobs in the US while it expands into Asia.

So the UAW, once the most powerful, and most politically progressive union in the US, is now facing a choice of a continuing slow decline into impotence, or a confrontation that could destroy both the union and the companies it bargains with.

For decades, khat, or miraa as it is popularly known across East Africa, has been the lifeline for farmers in eastern Kenya, but pressure to convince them to abandon the trade is now mounting.

The growing numbers of young adults chewing the mild stimulant has become a major concern among anti-drugs campaigners who fear dependency could ruin a generation.

Some 30 tonnes of khat are harvested each day by both small- and large-scale khat farmers who cultivate the crop in Meru District. Most of the crop is consumed in Kenya, but some is exported to Somalia and United Kingdom.

Somalia

Traders say some 3,000kg of khat are flown to Somalia’s capital everyday where its chewing has become the norm at social gatherings across Mogadishu.

PHOTO GALLERY In pictures: Growing khat Widow turns to khat

Some blame it for Somalia’s misfortunes.

During Islamist rule last year it was banned and the streets were the calmest for decades, but there was resistance.

Most militiamen have a high dependence on the stimulant and it is argued that it causes them to be irrational and easily provoked.

When the Islamist militia seized a consignment worth about $40,000 and set it on fire to mark the beginning of the ban, there was a riot and a curfew had to be imposed to contain the upheaval.

But since the Islamists were defeated at the turn of the year, exports of khat from Kenya have resumed and so has its consumption.

Kenya

Now the pressure to have khat banned is being stepped up in Kenya, where its consumption is on the rise.

FACTS ABOUT KHAT There are two main types of khat - miraa and hereri Miraa is grown mainly in Kenya Hereri comes from Ethiopia A bundle of khat costs about 3 ($6) in Britain Khat is illegal in the US and a bundle there sells for between $50 ( and $80 (41)

A survey done by the government drug watchdog, National Campaign Against Drugs Abuse, shows a big rise in new users on the coast and in the capital, Nairobi.

“Reports by our officers show that when a khat ban was enforced in Somalia the local dealers become very aggressive and were off loading the surplus products into the local market,” the watchdog’s national co-ordinator Jennifer Kimani told the BBC.

Now her organisation is advising the government to initiate a process where khat farmers are gradually encouraged to switch to other cash crops.

Apart from the negative health effects to the user, which include loss of appetite, lack of sleep, hallucinations, mental health issues and sometimes impotence, khat is also blamed social problems.

For instance in areas, cases of boys dropping out of school are rampant.

“Boys choose to work at khat plantations or sell the stimulant instead of going to school because there they make quick money,” Ms Kimani says.

Casual workers at a khat farm can earn up to $20 a shift while small-scale traders in markets across Kenya may earn 10 times that in daily sales.

Problems

In Mombasa, special restaurants, as seen in Yemen, have been designated as khat joints where groups of adults converge daily to chew the shoots and chat or cut business deals.

I have not treated anybody suffering from ailments caused by its use Dr Samuel Murega

But women complain of the long hours their husbands spend in these joints.

Imam Arshad Salim Imam says that numerous cases have been brought before religious leaders by women who report that their husbands have abandoned their family responsibilities.

“We have women who complain that they do not get their conjugal rights because their husbands remain occupied most of the night chewing khat,” says Imam Salim

He further notes that a lot of family income is committed to the habit at the expense of other needs like education, food and health.

For this reason, Imam Salim insists that the government should impose a ban on khat just like Tanzania where it illegal to sell or consume the stimulant.

Defence

But Dr Samuel Murega, a medic and khat farmer in Maua, eastern Kenya, believes calls to ban the stimulant are misguided.

Instead of banning the plant, he thinks the government should license and encourage its growth.

He also denies negative health claims.

“I run an active health clinic here… but I have not treated anybody suffering from ailments caused by its use,” says Dr Murega.

“Some people mix khat with other narcotic drugs to get high and they end up in undesirable state. And since they were chewing it openly then the blame goes on the stimulant and not the drugs they have taken which is unfair,” argues Dr Murega.

At present the trade is probably too lucrative for an imminent ban, but the remarkable changes in behaviour seen in Mogadishu when khat was banned has given officials plenty of food for thought.

What do you think? Should khat be banned? Tell us your experiences using the postform below.

The effects of khat chewing are less than those of smoking. Therefore before considering imposing ban on khat chewing, we should ban tobacco smoking first. Secondly, it’s a major cash crop and only income earner in some parts of Kenya. Myself I don’t see any problem in its consumption and I have friends who routinely chew it with no notable side effects.
Peter Karenju, Zanzibar

Banning khat overnight is completely unrealistic - the reality is that many people in eastern Ethiopia rely on khat production for financial support, and would suffer if they did not have this means of income. It is true that for the many men, women and children who chew khat, it can be incredibly destructive to their health (an estimated 80% of ‘psychotic’ patients in Ethiopia’s only mental hospital are the result of khat-induced psychosis), as well as their productivity, and the health of their marriages and relationships. But banning the addictive substance will not solve anything - if khat is eradicated, it will happen with the support of the Ethiopian government, (which incidentally takes in millions in khat taxes each year).

The government must condemn khat use and conduct research and spread public health messages about the negative health ramifications of khat, but must simultaneously support farmers and coffee growers so they do not have to rely on khat to produce a sustainable income, support education so children will have a greater incentive to go to school, rather than sell khat on the street, and support widows who are the sole bread winners of the family, so they do not have to resort to the khat trade to support their families. Only through a comprehensive approach to this region-wide addiction will there be any progress in the growing fight against khat.
Elizabeth Arend, Jijiga, Ethiopia

There is no need of banning khat. Instead, the Kenya government should regulate and market it as a cash crop since it has the potential of earning substantial foreign exchange. In spite of the negative publicity it is receiving here, khat is not even listed in the handbook of drugs. As compared with synthetic and processed hard drugs like cocaine, heroine, LSD and amphetamines, khat is but a mild stimulant. Nacada has always justified its existence by spreading alarmist messages and recommending solutions that are not only impractical, but also out of touch with reality.
Kipkoriony Rutto, Matsuyama, Japan

Maybe we can liken the propensity to chew khat to the huge appetite for beer in the Western world. Which is the better of the two evils? At least khat is not manufactured. Temperance, however, would be an essential if not critical element here to consider.
Larry Whyte, Kingston, Jamaica

Having lived in Ethiopia I enjoyed the ceremony surrounding khat consumption. It was nice for the community to somewhat shut down on Saturday afternoon and sit with friends to enjoy their company.
Understanding that there are other issues, why not look at the level of cigarette consumption in Africa countries, or better yet, alcohol. Those are far greater problems.
DS, US

For me it’s good news if it’s true that miraa is about to be banned. It is the major source of social problem in Mombas, Kenya as well in Yemen. I personally saw from my father. He would chew khat the whole night and sleep during the day. And when he woke up every body was his enemy till he got another supply and life went on like that. A huge loss to the family income.
Hashim, Dubai, UAE

Terms & Conditions

Mr Leslie said that by challenging the Conservative Party to promise to change the structures of the Assembly if they win the next general election, the DUP’s Peter Robinson was actually acknowledging the political impotence of local unionist parties.

In making this plea he is acknowledging that, when all is said and done, the only two parties in UK politics which really matter are the Conservatives and Labour - as one of them always controls the government in Westminster.

People in Northern Ireland should stop letting themselves be treated as second class citizens in the UK. We shouldn’t be restricted to NI-only parties because only by electing candidates from mainstream UK parties can we exert some real influence over government.

I, and my fellow Conservatives, have put the case for the removal of the designation system to the Conservative Leadership and they have accepted this in principle.

“Peter Robinson should understand that as part of a UK-wide party, when we issue a manifesto in Northern Ireland it has been agreed with our leadership.

Daithi McKay, Sinn Fein North Antrim candidate

Mr McKay said that the behaviour of the Electoral Office is discouraging many young people from voting.

The hassle that many young people have had to go through to get on the Electoral Register is nothing short of scandalous and judging from our own party’s canvas it appears that the Electoral Office is responsible for many people unnecessarily losing their vote.

It is quite clear that numerous people, including entire families, have been taken off the Electoral Register unnecessarily or because of examples of poor administrative work.

The Electoral Office must start taking radical measures to ensure that people can register right up until an election and they must become pro-active in seeking to put new voters on the Electoral Register - not bar them from it.

I would urge young people to go out and exercise their right to vote this week, and I would also urge those young people who have lost their vote this time round to fight to secure their right to vote.

Naomi Long, Alliance East Belfast candidate

Ms Long hit out at those responsible for an attempted robbery in East Belfast on Saturday night.

I am appalled by this incident.

This must have been a very distressing event for the of the shop.

The fact that a gun of some was used in this attempted robbery is extremely disturbing.

I would appeal to anyone with information on this attempted robbery to contact police , so that those involved can be brought to justice.

Kenny Donaldson, Ulster Unionist Fermanagh and South Tyrone candidate

Mr Donaldson expressed deep concern at the ‘Young Life and Times’ Survey which found that almost 30% of 16-year-olds within Northern Ireland were bullied at school within a two month period.

I am all too well aware from personal experience that bullying is a serious problem within our schools. What the bullies do not seem to understand is that their actions can have life-changing impact upon their victim.

Bullying is a problem throughout our society, whether in schools, the workplace or indeed in civic life and there are obviously multiple forms of bullying; with physical, verbal name-calling and psychological amongst the weapons used by aggressors.

Bullying policies have been found to be effective in combatting the scourge of bullying and I would call upon school boards of governors to give the issue of bullying the attention it deserves.

Bullying within sSchools isn’t confined to pupils: the Irish National Teachers Organisation has claimed there has been a 10-fold increase in the bullying of teachers in recent years and I support their call for a commitment by the Department of Education and employers to give support to teachers.

With the death toll rising rapidly in the battle between the Liberian Government and rebels for control of Monrovia, the African press is unimpressed with the pace of efforts to bring an end to the conflict.

“To the continent’s discredit, Africa has reacted to the crisis with the customary speed of a snail,” South Africa’s Business Day comments.

“Instead of finding solutions, our leaders are bogged down in issues of process.

“In the Liberia case, Africa should be exhorting the leaders of west Africa to use their influences and leverage to prevent further violence by controlling their borders and not allowing the flow of weapons into the country.”

Impotence

Senegal’s Le Soleil agrees. “It is as if the international community, but also the African community, were admitting their impotence and waiting for chaos in Liberia before they act,” it laments.

Taylor wants to stay to the bitter end Fraternite Matin, Ivory Coast

It might appear difficult to interfere in a country’s internal affairs, the paper reasons, “but between that and remaining passive observers of this tragedy, there are steps which could and should have been taken.”

But Nigeria’s Guardian is unhappy about that country’s continued involvement in Liberian affairs.

“Two steps taken recently indicate that Nigeria is once again a costly initiative supposedly to bring peace to Liberia,” it writes.

“The earlier from 1990 to 1997,” it reminds readers, “was a fiasco that resulted in huge losses in human and material terms.

“Nigeria should explore other ways in conjunction with Ecowas and other interested parties to bring peace to Liberia. Nigeria’s human and material sacrifices are enough already”, the paper says.

Taylor’s refuge

The Guardian is incensed by President Olusegun Obasanjo’s offer of asylum in Nigeria to beleaguered Liberian President Charles Taylor.

“Nigeria already has enough international problems to grapple with,” the paper says. “These should not be compounded by providing a roof for Taylor.”

Fraternite Matin in the Ivory Coast is also no fan of President Taylor.

What Africa needs is not endless aid but respect Monitor, Uganda

“Taylor wants to stay to the bitter end. In spite of the war which is raging in Monrovia. In spite of the hospitality offered him by Obasanjo,” it says.

“The old warrior is clinging on, leaving behind him a field of ruins,” the paper says, adding that the consequences for the Liberian economy and people matter little to him: President Taylor wants to “cling on to power at any cost”.

Cri du coeur

Further afield, Uganda’s Monitor is not inclined to dwell on African shortcomings.

“What Africa needs is not endless aid, but respect,” the paper says, “and an end to US- and European-sponsored conflicts that have ruined our various economies.”

The conflicts in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Angola have “all been sponsored and nurtured by these so-called democrats”.

“The oil struggles in Sudan and in the Horn of Africa are all foreign-sponsored. We want all these conflicts ended.”

BBC Monitoring, based in Caversham in southern England, selects and translates information from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages.