Ford workers in Canada OK contract

Associated Press

TORONTO

Canadian autoworkers at Ford have voted to accept the new contract that their union leadership negotiated last week, the union said Sunday.

The Canadian Auto Workers union said 82 percent of its Ford members accepted the four-year deal. The union did not indicate how many of its 4,500 workers at Ford cast ballots.

The union leadership also reached an agreement with GM last week. GM workers are set to vote on the tentative agreement Wednesday and Thursday.

Talks continue with Chrysler. The union wants Chrysler to match the deals they have reached with Ford and GM.

The Ford and GM contacts cut wages for new hires and freezes pay for current workers. But it also gives them lump-sum payments to cover inflation and for ratifying the deal.

Under the Ford and GM deals, the companies will pay new workers 60 percent of the current top wage of $33.89 Canadian dollars (US$34.74) an hour, according to the CAW. That would mean new workers would be paid around $20.33 Canadian ($20.84). They can move up the wage scale and reach the top wage in 10 years.

U.S. workers at the Detroit automakers approved a similar two-tier wage agreement five years ago, but in those agreements, workers don’t automatically get the top wage after 10 years.