UAW workers ratify 4-year contract with Ford

DETROIT - United Auto Workers members have ratified a four-year contract with Ford Motor Co. that sets lower pay for some newly hired workers and puts the company's huge retiree health care debt into a UAW-run trust.

The UAW, which represents about 54,000 workers at Ford, said Wednesday that 79 per cent of those voting favoured the pact.

Workers at General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have ratified similar deals, with the contract winning at Chrysler by only a small margin. Unlike the other two automakers, there was no strike at Ford.

The landmark deals have been praised by the companies and union for protecting jobs while cutting labour costs to make the struggling automakers more competitive with their Japanese rivals.

UAW president Ron Gettelfinger said the union negotiated a contract with Ford that protects wages, benefits and seniority rights and provides income and secure health care for retirees.

"We stood our ground in the face of some rather big asks by the company and came away with a creative agreement that addresses the concerns of our members and also gives the company the opportunity to move forward," he 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."

The UAW said production workers voted 81 per cent in favour of the deal, while skilled trades workers were 71 per cent in favour.

"This agreement is proof that by working together with our UAW partners, it is possible to find solutions that collectively benefit our employees, retirees and the company," Ford President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally said. "This contract will provide significant opportunities for the company's long-term competitiveness, and that is good for all of us."

In addition to the active workers, the deal covers more than 94,000 Ford retirees and 28,000 surviving spouses. It will run until Sept. 14, 2011.

The Ford deal was reached in the early morning hours of Nov. 3 after a nearly two-day bargaining session at the company's Dearborn headquarters.

In exchange for the wage cuts and other concessions, Ford promised not to close any U.S. plants beyond some it already has identified. It also promised future products to six U.S. assembly plants and agreed to make hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of improvements to factories.

Industry analysts say the pact should help the ailing automaker by lowering wages for thousands of new workers and moving its retiree health care obligations to a union-run trust.