Ford Vehicle

The future of Ford Motor Co. s plant in Hamburg will be on firmer ground under a new contract that is gaining wide support from its union workers across the country. The metal stamping plant on Route 5 will make parts for an undisclosed new vehicle under the proposed four-year deal with the United Auto Workers, a union official said.

If the contract is approved as seems likely the guarantee of future work will cement the plant s future for the next several years, UAW Local 897 President Charles Gangarossa said. It s a great contract, he said. The plant s going to stay open. Production workers at Ford s Buffalo Stamping Plant approved the proposed contract by 82 percent in voting Sunday. About three-quarters of the plant s 1,000 UAW members voted, the union said. National results of the vote are expected to be complete today.

Ford, the last of the three U.S.-based automakers to complete a new labor deal, looks likely to get approval of the new contract, as several large locals have voted heavily in favor. From what I ve seen so far, it looks like an 85, 86 percent average, Gangarossa said. Ratification requires approval by half of Ford s 58,000 UAW production workers. Workers in at least 11 UAW units have voted in favor of the contract, with a majority in none voting against it, Bloomberg News reported.

The deal that negotiators reached Nov. 3 creates a lower-wage tier for new hires and shifts retiree health care obligations to a union-administered trust fund. The reduced costs for Ford allowed the company to assure that the local plant has a product, Gangarossa said, although job levels will depend on the auto market. Employment depends on [Ford] market share and American car sales, he said.