DETROIT – Members of the United Automobile Workers union approved the tentative contract with Ford on Friday.
According to the union, 56.3 percent of members voted in favor of the agreement.
The four-year contract promises pay raises, no-cost increases in health care and pathways to top wages.
Ford workers will get $9,000 each, but Ford will close a factory in the deal, a person briefed on the pact said earlier this month. The company plans to close its engine factory in Romeo.
“Every Ford employee and temporary employee will be at the top-rate for full-time status at the end of this four-year agreement,” said Acting UAW President Rory Gamble, who is Director of the UAW Ford Department. “This is a life changing contract for many and provides a template for all future Ford UAW members to a full-time, top-rate status. There will be no more permanent temporary situations and no more permanent tiers.”
READ: Deal gives Ford workers $9K signing bonus; Romeo plant will close
“We are pleased that we were able to reach an agreement quickly with the UAW without a costly disruption to production,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of Automotive. “This deal helps Ford enhance our competitiveness and protect good-paying manufacturing jobs. Working with the UAW, we have added flexibility to our operations while keeping labor costs in line with projected U.S. manufacturing labor inflation costs and still rewarded our workers for their important contributions to the company.”