UAW members OK 4-year Ford contract
Published: Nov. 14, 2007 at 1:27 PM
The union said 81 percent of production workers and 71 percent of skilled-trades workers voted to approve the contract.
General Motors Corp. workers ratified their contract with less than two-thirds of members voting to approve the deal Oct. 10. Less than 55 percent of Chrysler LLC rank-and-file approved their contract Oct. 27.
The Ford agreement covers 54,000 active workers, 98,000 retirees and 28,000 surviving spouses, The Detroit News reported.
The UAW "came away with a creative agreement that addresses the concerns of our members, and also gives the company the opportunity to move forward," union President Ron Gettelfinger said in a statement.
"Now it's up to Ford to successfully bring to market the top-quality vehicles our members are building in UAW Ford factories," he said.
The three contracts have a number of similarities.
Notably, they each include the creation of a voluntary employee benefit association, which will take responsibility for retiree healthcare benefits. They also contain a two-tier wage structure that lets newly hired workers get sharply lower wages and less-generous benefits than current UAW employees.
© 2007 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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