Things look brighter for Ford-UAW deal as Mustang plant votes Yes

According to the United Auto Workers union, with roughly 12,356 of the 41,000 UAW workers employed by Ford having voted on the new 4-year labor contract, the “yes” votes have the lead by a slim margin of 51% to 49% who voted the new deal down.

As of Friday morning (October 14th), those UAW workers who had voted whether or not to ratify the new labor contract with Ford Motor Company had accounted for 6,271 "yes" votes and 6,085 "no" votes. This comes as a pleasant surprise after news that major plants in Detroit and Chicago had both voted against the new deal earlier this week. However, as more facilities around the country have reported the results of their voting things have swayed back in favor of the new contract. Among those factory workers who recently voted in favor of the new contract is the Flat Rock plant in Michigan where the Ford Mustang is built along with a pair of engine plants in Cleveland. The Mustang plant voted by a huge margin of 79% to just 21% to ratify the plant while the Cleveland engine plants voted by a slimmer gap of 53% to 47% to approve the deal.

The next big hurdle for the proposed Ford-UAW 4-year contract will be UAW Local 600, Ford’s largest local with representation of a variety of Detroit area plants that include the huge Rouge plant in Detroit.

Voting on the new Ford labor deal will take place for local UAW branches around the country through the weekend; ending on Tuesday with the final tally expected to be announced on Wednesday, October 19th. Should the majority of Ford’s union workers vote in favor of the new contract, the next step to institute the changes outlined under the new contract will begin but if the workers vote this tentative contract down, Ford will be forced to go back into negotiations with the UAW heads.

Unlike Chrysler and GM, whose workers gave up the right to strike as a part of the 2008 government bailout, Ford workers could go on strike and in many cases, workers have already voted in favor of striking at a handful of major plants. Those plants include some Detroit area plants that build the Ford F150 and the Chicago Assembly Plant responsible for the Ford Explorer and Taurus – all plants that voted against the new labor contract. Should the new deal be shot down by the workers and Ford isn’t quick enough with a new deal, the Motor Company could face a real risk of a strike by the workers.

Other Ford News:
UAW locals responsible for Explorer, F150 reject new Ford contract
The 2012 Ford F150 SVT Raptor gets new Torsen diff, front camera
The 2013 Ford Mustang to get Track Apps, special gauge modes
The 2012 Ford F150 EcoBoost offers 756 miles on a single tank of gas
New 5.8L V8 confirmed for 2013 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500
Next Gen Ford Fusion production could save the Ford Mustang facility