Canadian Union Approves Ford Contract

Unionized workers of Ford Motor Co. of Canada voted overwhelmingly to approve a three-year labor contract with the automaker, the Canadian Auto Workers union said Sunday.

The workers voted 95% in favor of the deal, which sets the standard on wages and other issues that the union expects DaimlerChrysler Canada and General Motors of Canada to match in talks this month.

The deal, which expires in 2008, provides wage increases of 45 Canadian cents an hour in the first year, 30 cents in the second, and 30 cents in the third.

In what the union has called a “good agreement for tough times,” Ford Canada will trim about 1,100 jobs by 2008.