Ford, UAW close on tentative agreement, sources say

Ford Motor Co. was close on Wednesday afternoon to a tentative agreement with the UAW on a 2023 union contract, the Detroit Free Press has learned.

Negotiators for Ford and the United Auto Workers had productive talks late Tuesday, said a source not authorized to discuss the matter. That person and another source with knowledge of the negotiations said people involved are hopeful, but the ongoing talks are delicate.

To give an idea of how quickly things can change, Ford was braced for expansion of the labor strike that began Sept. 15 to include a walkout Tuesday at the Dearborn Truck Plant at the Rouge, the sources told the Free Press.

That didn't happen.

Late Tuesday, Benjamin Dictor, a labor lawyer with the UAW, tweeted a photo of Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn from what appeared to be a view from behind shrubbery.

"A beautiful evening in Dearborn," Dictor wrote.

Mark Truby, Ford global communications chief, responded with his own tweet: "Hiding in the bushes?"

More: Ford offers unpaid leave to UAW factory workers at Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky

Dictor wrote back, "Stretching my legs. Still here?"

A key issue in the talks is reportedly a wage increase over the life of the contract. While the Detroit Three have offered 23%, first proposed by Ford, the UAW is said to want to push to 25% in addition to other benefits related to compensation and time off.

More: There’s a reason UAW is pushing so hard for Ford deal first, analyst says

A Ford deal would include cost-of-living pay increases that could lift the total pay raises above 30%, according to confidential sources credited by the Associated Press. In addition, workers would still receive annual profit-sharing checks.

On Monday, the UAW called a strike on Stellantis at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant. On Tuesday, the UAW called a strike on General Motors at Arlington Assembly in Texas.

UAW and Ford spokespeople declined to comment on the status of the Ford negotiations.

The current strike against the Detroit Three automakers has lasted 41 days — longer than the 40-day strike on GM in 2019. Ford Executive Chair Bill Ford urged an end to the strike on Oct. 16.

Ford employs the most hourly UAW members in the industry with nearly 57,000 employees. Striking workers are picketing the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois and the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, among other sites around the country.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: UAW strike update: Ford, UAW close to contract deal, sources say