DETROIT, Nov. 14 — United Automobile Workers members at Ford Motor approved a new four-year contract by the widest margin of any auto company, the union said on Wednesday.þþOver all, 79 percent of union members approved the agreement, which is similar to contracts reached at General Motors and Chrysler. The union said 81 percent of production workers voted in favor of the contract, while 71 percent of skilled trades workers approved it.þþThe Ford agreement covers 54,000 active workers. Like those at the other Detroit companies, it expires in 2011.þþThe approval wraps up a tumultuous and landmark set of negotiations that prompted brief strikes at G.M. and Chrysler before the agreements were reached. Both those companies announced job cuts soon after workers approved their respective deals.þþUnlike those companies, the deal at Ford was reached without a walkout or a strike deadline.þþThe U.A.W. “came away with a creative agreement that addresses the concerns of our members, and also gives the company the opportunity to move forward,” the union’s 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 U.A.W. Ford factories.”þþThe chief executive at Ford, Alan R. Mulally, said the contract “is proof that by working together with our U.A.W. partners, it is possible to find solutions that collectively benefit our employees, retirees and the company.”þþIn a statement, Mr. Mulally went on, “This contract will provide significant opportunities for the company’s long-term competitiveness, and that is good for all of us.”þþApproval of the Ford contract seemed likely after the company pulled back on plans to close a number of factories that it had planned to shut under a reorganization program.þþFord had originally planned to close 16 factories, but had identified only 10. Under the deal, the remaining six will be spared, although Ford retains the ability to shut plants if its sales deteriorate. þþFord also said it would delay the closing of two plants, in St. Paul and Cleveland, for a year. Both were scheduled to close in 2008.þþThe highlight of the new union contracts is the creation at each company of a voluntary employee benefit association, or VEBA, which will take responsibility for retiree health care benefits.þþThe automakers will shift responsibility for nearly $100 billion in current and future liabilities to the VEBA trusts, which will be run by a board that includes union representatives.þþG.M., Ford and Chrysler are contributing cash and stock to start the trusts, which are expected to be created in 2010 after court and regulatory approval.þþThe other main feature of the new contracts is a two-tier wage system under which newly hired workers will receive sharply lower wages and less-generous benefits than current employees. þþEach company also is expected to offer buyouts and other incentives to senior workers to encourage them to retire. Tens of thousands of auto workers in Detroit took advantage of such offers before the labor negotiations began.þþ
Source: NY Times
