The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. will officially launch talks on a four-year contract on Monday that are expected to be contentious, with rising health care costs, job security and the use of temporary workers expected to be major sticking points.
The Italian-American automaker confirmed it had reached a new tentative agreement with the United Auto Workers union. Local union leaders will vote on the proposed deal Friday at a meeting in Detroit. If the leaders approve the tentative agreement, UAW will release details and the ratification process will begin, a UAW spokesman said.
This is the first contract since Chrysler’s government bailout and trip to bankruptcy court two years ago, and the first since management of the company was taken over by Italian automaker Fiat SpA.
General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group extended their existing labor contracts with the UAW after failing to agree on new deals by a midnight Wednesday deadline. GM said talks will resume today at 10 a.m. ET.
