Ford workers narrowly approved a new national contract with the United Auto Workers union late Friday that was soundly rejected at the Chicago Assembly Plant, but that will pump $1.1 billion into the Calumet Region.
Two-thirds of workers at the Hegewisch auto factory voted against the deal, which new hires didn’t like because it keeps “two-tier” pay in place for another eight years. But after getting support at factories in Dearborn, Michigan, it passed just before midnight with 51.4 percent of the UAW vote nationally.
“We are pleased,” said John Fleming, executive vice president of Global Manufacturing and Labor Affairs for Ford Motor Co. “This agreement provides a good foundation for Ford Motor Co., our employees and our communities as we work together to create an even stronger business in the years ahead.”
UAW leadership in Detroit prioritized getting Ford to invest in its U.S. plants to ensure long-term job security since it has been moving manufacturing abroad to China and Mexico. Ford agreed to invest $9 billion in the United States, including $900 million at the Chicago Assembly Plant at Torrence Avenue and 126th Street on the far South Side and $200 million at the Chicago Stamping Plant, where they make panels in Chicago Heights.
The $1.1 billion investment will be the biggest in the Calumet Region since BP wrapped up its $4.2 billion modernization of its Whiting Refinery in 2013.
Workers will get a 3 percent raise this year, and another 3 percent raise in 2017. They will also receive $8,500 signing bonuses, which is expected to immediately inject more than $50 million in the local economy.
Some workers, especially recent hires, objected that the signing bonus wasn’t worth as much as actual raises and that an out-of-touch union leadership has sold them out.