Union workers at Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant overwhelmingly rejected proposed contract changes that include a “no-strike” provision on wages and benefits, the local president has said.
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The vote at the plant where Ford builds the F-150 pickup truck and Escape SUV was a setback for the automaker and United Auto Workers union national leaders who have recommended approving changes that would bring Ford’s labour costs in line with Detroit rivals, Reuters reported.
UAW members voted 92% against the agreement, citing in part a blurring of job classifications for skilled workers, the “no strike” provision and a lack of limits on hiring of entry level workers, UAW Local 249 president Jeff Wright told the news agency.
The vote was 1,712-147 against the contract changes at the plant, where Ford has more than 3,700 UAW-represented workers.
Wright took no position on the proposed changes.
Workers at five Ford plants in Michigan and Ohio that have about 4,800 UAW workers last week backed the tentative agreement reached on 13 October.
