Richest deal in history between Ford and UAW

There has been a four-year tentative agreement made between UAW and the Ford Motor Company. The new proposed deal is to provide job security and economic gain for the employees of the Ford Motor Company. The signing bonus is projected to be around $10,000 and $9 billion will be invested in US plants. There will also be around $1,750 in additional annual bonuses given to veteran workers. The deal would give entry-level workers a better healthcare plan and close the gap between new hires and veteran workers. The workers would also receive $70,000 in early retirement bonuses based on seniority.

The National Ford Council will meet in Detroit on Monday to discuss the proposed plan, which is similar to the plan proposed by General Motors and Fiat Chrysler. If the tentative deal is approved by the council, then it will be brought for ratification to Ford’s UAW members to vote. Ford happens to be the last of the Detroit automakers to strike a deal with the UAW, which started this summer. They also seem to be the ones that have received the best deal.

Although the UAW has not yet made a deal with General Motors, it does not mean that they are not allowed to come to an agreement with another automaker.“It’s not that unusual,” said Art Schwartz, a former negotiator with GM and president of Labor and Economics Associates.

The company has exceeded expectations in sales with trucks and sport-utility vehicles, making it that much more prudent to reward employees for sticking around through the rough times during the recession. “This agreement is significant for our members in that it creates a clear path for economic advancement for active members and rewards veteran employees for their sacrifices in recent years,” said UAW vice president James Settles, Jr. “It is one of the richest agreements in the history of UAW-Ford.”

Due to Ford Motor Company wanting to provide incentives to their workers, they are looking at giving first-tier workers two 3 percent increases and two 4 percent lump sum bonuses over the life of the new contract. The second-tier would have an eight-year period to reach the top wages. Ford had a 20 percent cap on the second-tier workers but moved about 800 workers over to the first-tier earlier this year.

For GM’s proposed contract, it’s a different story. About 55 percent of their workers approved the proposed contract, but a majority of the skilled-trades workers denied the deal. Both skilled-trades workers and production workers must agree on the contract in order for the deal to go through according to union rules. However, the union has the authority to overrule the rejection if they find it was voted down for reasons that were unrelated to their job classifications.

Ford is on the path to doing big things with their company and for their workers. Ford said in a statement that if the deal is ratified, it “will help lead the Ford Motor Company, our employees, and our communities into the future.”