Ford Deal With UAW Includes $10,000 Signing Bonus, More Plant Improvements

Rank-and-file Ford workers may get their first glimpses Monday at a newly proposed contract between the automaker and the United Auto Workers union, the Detroit News reported.

According to the report, Ford workers may be offered a $10,000 signing bonus to approve the contract; a $1,750 annual bonus payout, similar to one in the proposed General Motors contract; a $70,000 early retirement buyout for senior workers; a $9 billion investment plan for Ford factories; and, pay increases for veteran Tier 1 and newer Tier 2 workers.

The National Ford Council, which is comprised of union leadership from Ford facilities, is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Monday. If approved by the council, the contract would go to workers for voting. It’s not immediately clear when voting for Ford workers would start.

Ford is the only automaker that reached a deal with the UAW before a strike deadline was issued by the union. Both General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles reached deals with the union in the final hours before a pending strike.

The Ford deal is richer for union workers than the other two deals with automakers. In addition to the $10,000 signing bonus — which is $8,500 for ratification and $1,500 advance profit-sharing payment — it does not change Ford’s profit-sharing plan that shares $1 with workers for every $1 million in company profits. Last year, Ford posted a $6.3 billion profit.

In addition to the new Ford deal, the UAW will take its case to some union workers at GM plants starting Monday after that deal failed to pass. Those skilled trades workers, who rejected their portion of the automaker’s contract with the union last week, will likely have their contracts renegotiated with the automaker.

A majority of workers at GM plants approved the union contract, however since a majority of skilled trades workers rejected their deal, negotiators may have to start again for some aspects of the contract. The UAW would only negotiate aspects of the contract specific to trades workers if those employees can demonstrate that their objections are job-specific.

According to the Detroit News, skilled trades workers at Chrysler rejected their portion of the deal in 2011, similar to skilled trades workers at GM plants this year. In 2011, then-Union president Bob King ratified the deal with the UAW without the skilled trades workers approval after the union deemed that their issues with the contract weren’t related to their job-specific duties.