The agreement will be presented to the plant-level UAW leaders Monday morning for approval, and if granted it will be given to the union members nationwide for ratification.
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Ford and the UAW reached the agreement without the union having to a strike deadline, which it did at both Fiat Chrysler and GM before reaching last minute deals.
GM also committed to spend about $8 billion across 12 US facilities over the life of the contract, the union said.
At GM, voting was fairly close early this week, but several large union locals approved it Friday.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles FCHA.Michigan FCAU.N in September overwhelmingly rejected the first negotiated proposal but approved the second one, which took effect last week.
To be ratified, a majority of 52,700 workers in the US must vote yes on the deal, with voting coming to an end today (Friday, November 6, 2015). Ms. Hale said GM’s board of directors discussed the situation with UAW leaders and “made it absolutely clear that there are no more economic concessions to give at this time”. GM will pay out that incentive to as many as 4,000 UAW production workers. An earlier strike was avoided after GM proposed a contract agreement October 25.
The rejection by skilled trades workers could lead to changes in provisions specifically aimed at those workers. At least 60 percent of production workers at the two plants favored the deal, local media and social media posts show.
Workers assemble a truck at Ford’s plant in Avon Lake, Ohio.
UAW members have bristled at accepting any deal that maintains the two-tier wage structure that kept workers hired after 2007 from reaching the same base wage scale as more senior workers.
“To me the biggest issue of all was the question of the lower tier; having multiple tiers undermines the whole idea of solidarity”, he said. It also wants to expand healthcare to temporary workers.
He said he’s hoping the deal would secure products and jobs in the United States.
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GM’s proposed contract also offers $60,000 for up to 4,000 eligible employees who agree to retire next spring.
