(Oct. 19, 2011) DEARBORN, Mich. — The gall of some UAW workers at Ford thinking that it was back to the good old days when it was fashionable to hold up the auto companies for all they were worth was tempered by the majority who realized that they not only had a job, but a damn good one judging from the pay, bonuses and fringe benefits being offered by Ford and recommended to them by the UAW leadership.
Ford Motor Company confirmed that a new national labor agreement has been ratified by UAW-represented employees in the U.S. The agreement covers approximately 41,000 employees; members voted 63 percent in favor of the contract, 26,274 to 15,225 among production and skilled-trades workers. The contract is for four-years.
Ford is adding 12,000 hourly jobs in its U.S. manufacturing facilities through the four-year term of the contract, including in-sourcing work from Mexico, China and Japan. The company also is investing $16 billion in its U.S. product development and manufacturing operations – including $6.2 billion in plant-specific investments – by 2015.
While Ford’s fixed-labor costs will remain the same as under the 2009 agreement, the new contract calls for several cash bonuses including a one-time $6,000 signing bonus.
Ford’s new national labor agreement also brings new products to U.S. plants. For example, Ford is moving production of the Ford F-650 and F-750 medium-duty trucks from Escobedo, Mexico, to its Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio. The company also is bringing F53 motor home chassis and F59 commercial stripped chassis production in-house, investing $128 million in the Ohio facility. This action also marks the end of a decade-old Blue Diamond Truck LLC joint venture between Ford and Navistar International, which currently manufactures Ford F-650 and F-750 trucks in Mexico for customers across North America.
Ford says this agreement will keep it competitive in the U.S.
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