Proposed deal would give a few Ford workers first raises in a decade

On wages and benefits, the Ford deal largely mirrors the agreement struck at GM, with newer workers getting an eight-year path to a higher $29-an-hour wage and more senior factory employees receiving their first wage increase in about a decade. The GM deal included a signing bonus of $8,000, double what senior workers at Fiat Chrysler received, and it extended medical benefits to entry-level workers that matched those of veteran employees. UAW President Dennis Williams has called the GM and Fiat Chrysler contracts “very rich agreements”. The Ford deal is expected to mirror the two deals the preceded it by providing pay raises to auto workers across the board.

Negotiators for Ford Motor Co F.N continued to meet with UAW representatives but had not begun discussions on the final economic aspects of a contract, said people familiar with the talks.

Under UAW bylaws, union leaders are obligated to hear the skilled trades’ complaints in light of their overwhelming rejection.

The UAW is still working to get its agreement with GM ratified. On the contrary, many workers are convinced the UAW will do nothing to win any improvements for them, even as the automakers are making record profits.

Kristin Dziczek, labor analyst with the Center for Automotive Research, said that overall, workers appeared on their way to passing the deal. The UAW secured strike approval from members prior to kicking off negotiations with GM in the summer.

In addition, 65 percent of 1,400 workers at an adjacent parts stamping plant also voted in favor, said local President Robert Morales.

The deal also would, over eight years, close a pay gap between veteran workers and those hired since 2007, who were paid at a significantly lower pay scale. In 2011, the union reached a tentative deal with Chrysler while Ford voting was taking place. That is more than double the commitment made by GM in its agreement with the UAW.

GM is better positioned to sustain an increase in its US labor costs than in the past because its labor bill has been reduced dramatically with the size of its work force over the last 15 years. The workers maintain the production machinery for the remainder of the plant’s 1,500 workers who make Passat sedans.

One of the contract issues that has upset skilled workers is that they wouldn’t be eligible for a $60,000 retirement buyout being offered to 4,000 production line workers.