Ford workers have narrowly approved a new contract for four years that wrapped up negotiations of five months between automakers in Detroit and the United Auto Workers Union.
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Hourly labor costs are lower for most of the foreign automakers with U.S. plants, which puts a lid on wages and benefits of the Detroit Three automakers.
Production workers favored the deal with 51.3% voting yes while 52.4% of skilled trades workers said yes.
UAW Ford VP Jimmy Settles, “There is no higher authority than the membership”. “Through a rational and democratic procedure U.A.W.-Ford members have produced occupation protection and powerful economical increases for their families and communities”.
“We will continue to work with our UAW partners to implement the agreement, and engage our employees in improving the business and building great vehicles for our customers”, she said.
“Following discussions with GM, the parties agreed to changes that protect core trades classifications and seniority rights”, the UAW said in a news release.
The narrow approval avoids a potentially contentious and embarrassing situation for the UAW’s leadership, which also had trouble getting deals ratified with Fiat Chrysler and General Motors. “UAW-Ford members have delivered job security and strong economic gains for their families and communities”. Even though they were outnumbered by production workers, who approved it by 58% to 42%, the union’s constitution required meetings to learn the strongest objections were that led to skilled trades rejecting the contract.
Workers also will receive an annual $1,000 performance bonus and additional $500 quality bonus if targets are met. The company plans to invest $1.9 billion at a dozen USA facilities, creating or retaining 3,300 jobs. The extension also created tension in a few plants between production workers, who approved the deal, and skilled trades workers.
Earlier on Friday, the UAW announced that it had finally ratified a new labor agreement with GM, covering more than 52,000 workers.
The bonus cash for workers alone could be a big pre-tax pay day for the MI economy. But UAW leaders insisted that wasn’t accurate.
A defeat for the contract could have left Ford facing a strike for the first time in 39 years.
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Kristin Dziczek, director of the labor and industry group at the Center for Automotive Research, said the overall cost of the two FCA deals was virtually identical, but that the second agreement gave workers less job security in exchange for letting Tier 2 workers eventually earn more money. Those calculations don’t include profit-sharing, which totaled more than $30,000 a worker during the past four years.
