UAW members at the first Ford plant to go on strike vote to approve new contract
Members at the Michigan Assembly Plant voted 81% in favor of the deal.
DETROIT — Autoworkers at the first Ford factory to go on strike have voted overwhelmingly in favor of a tentative contract agreement reached with the company.
Members of Local 900 at the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, west of Detroit voted 81% in favor of the four year-and-eight month deal, according to Facebook postings by local members on Thursday.
Two union officials confirmed the accuracy of the percentage Thursday. Neither wanted to be identified because the vote totals had not been made public.
About 3,300 United Auto Workers union members went on strike at the plant Sept. 15 after the union's contract with Ford expired. They remained on the picket lines until Oct. 25, when the union announced the tentative deal with Ford.
Production workers voted 81% to ratify the deal, while skilled trades workers voted 90% in favor. Voting at Ford will continue through Nov. 17.
Local union leaders from across the country at Jeep maker Stellantis are meeting in Detroit Thursday to get an explanation of the company's tentative agreement from UAW President Shawn Fain and Vice President Rich Boyer. If they endorse the contract, Fain and Boyer will explain it to members in an online presentation Thursday evening.
General Motors local leaders will meet on Friday, with another contract explanation likely on Friday evening. Dates for voting at GM or Stellantis were not yet clear.
Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University in Detroit who follows labor issues, said the vote at the Ford factory is a positive sign for the union. “These workers are deeply in the know about the overall situation,” he said. “I think that they responded to
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