Ford And UAW Reach Tentative Agreement

With all the excitment of a new Ford Focus (sans Sync, of course), it looks like the Ford-UAW contract negotiations have come and gone. The two organizations have announced they have reached a tentative agreement, all without even a strike deadline to speed things along. Details of the contract haven't been released yet and the agreement still must be ratified by the UAW membership. Ford press release after the jump.

STATEMENT: UAW-FORD REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENT ON NEW NATIONAL LABOR AGREEMENT

Note: The following statement is attributable to Joe Laymon, group vice president, Human Resources and Labor Affairs, Ford Motor Company.

DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 3 — The United Auto Workers union (UAW) and Ford have reached a tentative agreement on a four-year national labor contract covering approximately 54,000 represented employees in the United States.

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank UAW President Ron Gettelfinger, UAW Vice President Bob King and the entire UAW national bargaining committee for all of their hard work and professionalism over the past several months. I would also like to thank the Ford bargaining team for its skill and dedication during this complex and challenging set of negotiations.

The agreement is subject to ratification by UAW members. It includes a memorandum of understanding to establish an independent retiree health care trust. Following ratification, implementation of the memorandum of understanding is subject to approval by the courts and satisfactory review of accounting treatment with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Though we will not discuss the specifics of the tentative agreement until after it becomes final, we believe it is fair to our employees and retirees, and paves the way for Ford to increase its competitiveness in the United States.