Auto Workers, Ford Agree on Tentative Pact

Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers reached a tentative contract Sunday that is similar to an agreement that General Motors Corp. forged with the union three weeks ago.

Once Ford workers ratify the contract, a process expected to be completed Oct. 21, the union will head to Chrysler Corp.

The most contentious issue in the Ford-UAW talks was a provision calling for penalties of up to $5 an hour for scheduling excessive overtime. Ford makes more liberal use of overtime than does GM or Chrysler.

The overtime penalty, which increases as the number of scheduled overtime hours increases, doesn’t appear to be a problem in the near future since car and truck sales are down and any economic recovery doesn’t seem to be close at hand, Ford Chairman Harold Poling said.

In addition to the overtime premium, the agreement provides for income guarantees for laid-off workers. GM has promised to spend up to $4 billion to compensate idled workers. At Ford, with a much smaller work force, the commitment would be around $1.5 billion, UAW President Owen Bieber said.

The contract covers about 100,000 Ford employees. GM has about 300,000 UAW workers and Chrysler Corp. about 63,000.

At Chrysler, the union and the company are at loggerheads over whether the financially struggling firm will be allowed to deviate greatly from the pattern agreement. Company officials insist that Chrysler needs relief from soaring health-care costs.