Ford-UAW Pact Teeters Toward Rejection

A four-year national labor agreement between the United Auto Workers union and Ford Motor Co. appears to be headed for defeat after workers at two large factories rejected the proposal by 2:1 margins. Voting on the contract will be completed by Friday.

UAW leaders describe the deal as one of the union’s richest ever. But Automotive News estimates the contract has so far been rejected by 52% of Ford’s production workers and accepted by 51% of the much smaller skilled traded workers. A majority combined vote of the UAW’s 53,000 Ford workers is necessary for ratification.

The proposal offers workers an $8,500 signing bonus and features similar to contracts at General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles: raises for veteran workers and a plan to achieve pay parity for so-called second-tier hires over eight years. Ford also has pledged to invest $9 billion in U.S. facilities over the term of the contract.

AN says many Ford workers appear to believe a second round of negotiations will bring them a better settlement, as was the case for workers at FCA last month. But a labor analyst tells the newspaper more pay will result in fewer jobs.