Ford Motor Company The Detroit Free Press learned that the company was close Wednesday afternoon to reaching a tentative agreement with the UAW on a 2023 union contract.
A source not authorized to discuss the matter said that negotiators for Ford and the UAW held productive talks late Tuesday. That person and another source familiar with the negotiations said the people involved were optimistic, but the ongoing talks were sensitive.
To give an idea of how quickly things could change, Ford prepared to expand the labor strike that began last September. That is scheduled to include a strike on Tuesday at the Dearborn Truck Plant in the Rouge area, sources told the Free Press.
This did not happen.
Late Tuesday, Benjamin Dector, a labor lawyer for the UAW, tweeted a photo of Ford’s global headquarters in Dearborn from what appeared to be a view from behind the bushes.
“Beautiful evening in Dearborn,” Dector wrote.
Mark Truby, Ford’s head of global communications, responded with a tweet of his own: “Hiding in the bush?”
more: Ford is offering unpaid leave to UAW plant workers at its Louisville, Kentucky, assembly plant
The doctor replied, “Stretch out my leg. Are you still here?”
It is reported that one of the main issues in the talks is a wage increase for the duration of the contract. While the Detroit Three has offered the 23% rate, which was first proposed by Ford, the UAW is said to want to increase the rate to 25% as well as other benefits related to compensation and leave.
more: There’s a reason the UAW is pushing so hard for the Ford deal first, the analyst says
Ford’s deal would include cost-of-living wage increases that could push total wage increases to more than 30%, according to confidential sources cited by the Trump administration. News agency. In addition, workers will still receive annual profit-sharing checks.
On Monday, the UAW called a strike at the Stellantis at its Sterling Heights assembly plant. On Tuesday, the UAW called a walkout at General Motors’ Arlington Assembly headquarters in Texas.
Spokespeople for the UAW and Ford declined to comment on the status of Ford’s negotiations.
The current strike against the Detroit Three automakers has lasted 41 days — longer than the 40-day strike at General Motors in 2019. Ford CEO Bill Ford urged an end to the strike in October. 16.
Ford employs the largest number of UAW members in the industry with approximately 57,000 employees. Striking workers are picketing the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois, and the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, among other sites around the country.
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid.
