UAW-Ford Contract Goes to Workers for Ratification Vote

United Auto Workers union local leaders have approved a tentative four-year labor contract with Ford Motor Co. and sent it to the UAW’s 53,000 Ford workers in the U.S. for ratification.

The agreement will give workers $8,500 signing bonuses, more than the amounts negotiated for the union’s members at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and General Motors. FCA workers approved their agreement last month. The GM pact is still being finalized after the measure was accepted on Friday by production workers but rejected by skilled trades members.

The Ford agreement is similar to the FCA and GM deals on key points. All three give senior workers their first raise in 10 years and lay out an eight-year plan to equalize hourly pay between veteran tier-one workers and their more recently hired tier-two counterparts. The pacts also extend full healthcare benefits to tier-two workers.

The Ford deal includes a pledge to invest $9 billion over the next four years in American facilities, creating or protecting 8,500 jobs. The contract indicates the company will add U.S. production of all-new Escape and Explorer SUVs and Lincoln Continental luxury sedans and three unspecified new products.

At the same time, Ford will phase out domestic production of the C-Max MPV, Focus small sedan and hatchback, Fusion midsize sedan and Taurus large sedan when those vehicles end their current product lifecycle.

Next-generation Focus and C-Max production is likely to relocate to Mexico. Ford also may expand current Fusion capacity there. The fate of the slow-selling Taurus isn’t clear.