The United Auto Workers (UAW) and Ford Motor Co. reached a tentative agreement yesterday on a new contract for approximately 41,000 hourly and salary workers at 27 Ford assembly and manufacturing plants, the UAW announced.
Details of the deal were not released, although the UAW said it will add thousands of jobs.
“This tentative agreement adds another 5,750 new jobs to communities across America where people have been struggling to recover from our nation's economic turmoil,” said UAW president Bob King. “These new UAW jobs mean more than 12,000 new jobs in total with jobs previously announced by Ford. Many of these jobs will be added by the end of 2012, and all will be added during the term of the new contract. Last week, the UAW and General Motors Co. announced the creation of 6,400 jobs at GM. The American auto industry is on its way back.”
According to the UAW, the agreement also calls for $16 billion of investment to produce new models and upgrade current vehicles and components by 2015.
“Long-term job security for UAW members depends on quality, innovation and efficiency,” said UAW vice president Jimmy Settles, who directs the union’s Ford Dept. “UAW members at Ford are completely committed to top-quality and top-selling products, and this agreement ensures that the members will benefit now that the company is doing well.”
Passage of the deal by union members, however, is not certain, according to Bill Johnson, plant chairman of UAW Local 900 in Wayne, MI.
“There are really no concessions gained back, and there is nothing for the retirees,” Johnson told the Detroit Free Press , adding that many longtime workers wanted a raise and reinstatement of cost-of-living increases.
The UAW reached a tentative agreement with General Motors on Sept. 16. The agreement was ratified by UAW members on Sept. 28. The UAW’s current contract with Chrysler Group LLC has been extended, and negotiations continue, it said.
