Ford and United Auto Workers reach tentative contract agreement

The United Auto Workers union says it has reached a tentative contract agreement with Ford after three days of intense bargaining.

The union said the deal was reached Wednesday night but didn’t give details.

It said the deal still needs approval from committees of national union leaders and local officials who will meet Friday in Detroit. Then it will be sent to Ford’s 55,000 union workers for a ratification vote.

The agreement is likely to mirror the pact approved by General Motors workers after a 40-day strike.

The GM contract has a mix of pay raises and lump-sum checks, a quicker path to full wages for new hires and assurances that temporary workers can become full-time. It also includes $7.7 billion in investments at U.S. factories.

UAW Vice President Rory Gamble, the chief negotiator with Ford, said bargainers were talking during the GM strike. Negotiations resumed in earnest Monday.

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The union’s “pattern bargaining strategy” won unspecified salary and benefits gains with Ford and secured more than $6 billion in product investments in American facilities, Gamble said in a statement. The investments will create or keep more than 8,500 jobs, but no precise number of new jobs was given.

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