AUTOS
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Ford Employees Back Strike Option: The United Auto Workers union said Ford Motor Co. employees voted by a 95% margin to authorize a strike against the auto maker if one is deemed necessary. Ernie Lofton, UAW vice president in charge of the union’s Ford Department, told Ford negotiators in Detroit of the results of the nationwide authorization vote, completed Tuesday. The union has chosen Ford as the target of negotiations toward a new contract with the Big Three auto makers. The balloting cleared the way for Ford’s 97,000 UAW members to go on strike if no new deal is reached when their contract expires Sept. 15.
