Union members are voting on a new deal that was reached between the United Auto Workers worldwide union and General Motors.
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The settlement at Ford comes after the UAW reached a deal with GM that was richer than the contract it negotiated with smaller and less profitable Fiat Chrysler Automobiles last month.
UAW President Dennis Williams has called the GM and Fiat Chrysler contracts “very rich agreements”. Fiat Chrysler workers approved the contract in October.
Workers at a General Motors factory in Arlington, Texas, voted to reject a new four-year labor agreement, according to reports.
Ford was the third of the Detroit automakers to bargain with the UAW, with FCA and GM completing agreements earlier this fall. Workers also would be eligible for lump-sum performance bonuses of $1,000, in addition to an annual $500 bonus if GM hits vehicle-quality targets.
The negotiations began on April 28 and were set to end in September, when the previous contract expired.
Locals 1112 and 1714 at Lordstown, where about 4,200 workers stamp parts for and assemble the Chevrolet Cruze, approved the deal by majorities of 72 percent and 65 percent, respectively.
The UAW is not expected to announce the final tally of the GM vote until the weekend.
Harper said the union is trying to split the hourly manufacturing workers at the plant.
“I am extremely grateful the UAW has made serious progress with restoring its motto of ‘equal work for equal pay, ‘ ” John Jablonski, an entry-level worker, told the Detroit News.
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In a significant vote, which indicates the vast opposition the UAW will confront when it seeks to push a similar contract on 49,000 Ford workers, workers at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant defeated a local contract by 55-45 percent on Tuesday, with skilled trades voting against the deal by 80 percent. Members of both worker groups were to get $8,000 for approving the pact. “My major reservation about this agreement is that there are temporary workers who may go for a long period of time without the full benefits”. First, they are not eligible for a $60,000 retirement incentive that will be offered to up to 4,000 production workers.
