FORD DEAL NETS UNION BIG WINS ON WAGES, BENEFITS, INVESTMENTS – United Auto Workers leaders approved tentative deal with Ford that includes pay hike
United Auto Workers leaders approved a tentative deal with Ford that includes a pay hike of at least 30% for full-time workers and could more than double pay for others, in a victory for the union’s fight to roll back 15 years of concessions.
The new deal includes $8.1 billion in manufacturing investments and could give workers up to $70,000 in extra pay over the 4-1/2-year life of the contract.
Cost-saving provisions such as paying workers at component plants less than employees at vehicle assembly lines were swept away under the new contract. The deal also eliminates all lower wage tier plants, an issue UAW president Shawn Fain highlighted from the start of the bargaining process.
Temporary workers will more than double their pay. Permanent workers could see top wage rates rise by more than 30% to $42.60 per hour by 2028, including estimated cost of living allowances.
In return, Ford will get the opportunity to offer an unlimited number of $50,000 buyouts to older workers earning the top rate. Ford can now replace them with younger hires who will earn less than the top wage for three years. Earlier, it took new workers eight years to reach top wage.
