The 2019 UAW contract with Ford includes $6 billion in promised “major investments” in U.S. facilities and the creation and preservation of more than 8,500 jobs, including 19 promising facilities. The terms of the four-year agreement are similar to those concluded by the union with General Motors, but without a strike. Bernie Ricke, president of UAW Local 600 near the Rouge Industrial Complex, said its 14,000 active members are looking to the future, investments, products and jobs. “The process went well,” he said Friday. “I think we did a good job of explaining the agreement to our members. I am proud of the work we have done. Union members approved a four-year employment contract with Ford Motor and agreed to wage increases and other terms almost identical to the deal with General Motors. The union secured the same terms as G.M. last month after a strike that shut down most of the company`s North American operations for 40 days.
It was the longest nationwide strike against General Motors in 49 years. G.M. said the strike would reduce its operating profit by about $3 billion in 2019. The United Automobile Workers union announced Friday that the deal was supported by 56 percent of voters. Ford noted in a press release Friday that the company “will incur $700 million in fourth-quarter expenses related to the new deal, which are primarily related to the ratification premium.” The agreement applies to hourly employees represented by the UAW at Ford manufacturing facilities in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, Illinois and New York. “Every Ford employee and temporary worker will have the highest price for full-time status at the end of this four-year agreement,” UAW Acting President Rory Gamble, UAW-Ford division director, said in a prepared statement. “This is a life-changing contract that provides a model for all future Ford UAW members at a full-time maximum rate status. There will be no more permanent temporary situations and no more permanent stages.
The terms of the new agreement provide Ford with an opportunity to improve its manufacturing and operational capability, the company said, including: “We are pleased to have been able to quickly reach an agreement with the UAW without costly interruption of production,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford`s president of the automotive industry, said in a prepared statement. This agreement helps Ford improve its competitiveness and protect well-paying manufacturing jobs. By working with the UAW, we have given our operations more flexibility while keeping labor costs in line with the projected inflation costs of U.S. manufacturing while rewarding our workers for their significant contributions to the company. Under the contract, Ford has committed to investing $6 billion in plants in the U.S., spending that is expected to create or maintain 8,500 jobs. G.M. has committed to invest $7.7 billion in domestic assets and an additional $1.3 billion in collaboration with partners. The union announced the percentage without precise figures after members finished voting nationwide at 7:30 p.m. .m.m. On Monday, the UAW begins the process to complete its model negotiations with Fiat Chrysler.
A six-week strike at General Motors, which ended with ratification on September 25. The month of October ended, led the contract negotiations until Thanksgiving, which is atypical. Employees` contributions to health insurance remain unchanged at around 3% of total costs. After two weeks of voting with little drama or controversy, UAW workers ratified their four-year contract with Ford with 56.3 percent of the vote, the UAW announced Friday night. The fact is that Ford negotiators have achieved many of the goals set by the UAW, said Kristin Dziczek, vice president of industry, labor and economics at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. Temporary workers have a path to full employment and there is an upper limit to the number of temporary workers hired. You don`t lose anything in health care. And they received a whole series of detailed investments. More:UAW sells the ex-president`s wasteful Up North cabin as part of the ethical purge Ford has more UAW members than any other automaker in the U.S. About 55,000 workers are covered by the deal. .