The United Auto Workers union approved a tentative agreement with Ford Motor on Sunday.
The agreement includes $8.1 billion in new plant investments by the company, $5,000 ratification bonuses and other economic gains such as 25% compounded wage increases and improved profit-sharing payments.
The 4.5-year tentative agreement, which was announced Wednesday, will now be applied to 57,000 UAW-Ford members.
“We send this contract to you because we know it breaks records. We know it will change lives. But what happens next is up to you all,” UAW President Shawn Fain and UAW Vice President Chuck Browning said in a joint statement.
The total length for the agreement is over 800-pages long but UAW leaders have outlined some of the details.
The deal includes $2.1 billion for Ohio Assembly for current products and a new electric van, $1.2 billion for a new EV at Louisville Assembly in Kentucky for pickup and SUV production, including hybrid versions of the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
Also included is $1 billion in Kansas City Assembly, and $900 million for F-150 production and a new electric truck.
There is also an increase in compensation, 25% raises which include an 11% increase upon ratification, followed by 3% increases the next three years and then a 5% increase in October 2027.
The raises and benefits such as expectations of $8,800 for cost-of-living adjustments cumulatively raise the top wage to more than $40 an hour, including an increase of 68% for starting wages to over $28 an hour.
“One of our biggest goals coming out of this historic contract victory is to organize like we’ve never organized before,” Fain said Sunday during an online broadcast. “When we return to the bargaining table in 2028, it won’t just be with the ‘Big Three,’ but with the big five or big six.”
