LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers union have agreed to a short-term extension of their 2015 labor contract that had been set to expire on Saturday at midnight.
The extension was expected as the UAW chose earlier this month to focus on General Motors for the major economic issues in the parallel labor talks with the Detroit Three automakers. The results of the GM talks will be the basis for the Ford and Fiat Chrysler agreements.
The decision to make GM the so-called “pattern” agreement means there is no immediate risk of strike among Ford’s roughly 12,500 hourly workers at Louisville Assembly Plant and Kentucky Truck Plant.
The extended Ford-UAW contract has no end date and can be canceled by either Ford or the UAW with three days’ notice, according to UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg.
“The company’s focus remains on reaching a fair agreement with the UAW that allows the company to be more competitive so we can continue to preserve and protect good-paying manufacturing jobs and maintain our track record of investing in our U.S. plants,” Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said.
Rory Gamble, the head of the UAW’s national Ford department, said in a memo Friday that the union “look(s) forward to presenting a tentative agreement in very near future that meets the needs of our entire membership.”
