Ford, CAW reach production pact

The Canadian Auto Workers union has reached a tentative agreement with Ford Motor Co. that would ensure the company's manufacturing footprint in Canada until at least 2012.

The tentative deal includes a commitment that the company's Canadian operations will manufacture 10 per cent of the vehicles Ford makes in North America.

Union officials have signed off on the deal, but it must be approved by employees, who are set to vote on it over the weekend.

The company currently makes roughly 13 per cent of its North American output in Canada, a percentage the union was pushing to maintain.

"In the end, this was a deal breaker," CAW head Ken Lewenza said. "There had to be a footprint or there wouldn't be a deal."

The company has also agreed to build a new vehicle at its Oakville, Ont., assembly plant, the union said on Friday. That plant, currently operating two shifts, manufactures the Edge and Flex Ford vehicles and the MKX and MKT Lincoln vehicles.

"Production won't start during the life of this agreement," Lewenza said, "but Ford commits to a new vehicle platform for the Oakville plant."

The company has also agreed a third production shift in Oakville when market conditions warrant it, Lewenza said.

The deal is unlikely to lead to an increase in the number of Canadian jobs in the near term, union officials conceded Friday. But they are optimistic that job growth in Canada can expand in lockstep with an improving economy overall as a result of the deal.

"Short term, the answer is no," said Mike Vince, CAW lead negotiator and head of Windsor Local 200. "But long term, we believe it to be so."

St. Thomas plant to close

Negotiations were not able to save Ford's St. Thomas, Ont., assembly plant, which employs 1,600 people.

"Ford is insisting that the St Thomas plant will close in September of 2011," Lewenza said. "Let's not kid anybody — Ford has no plans for the St. Thomas facility."

The company has also committed to produce at least as many vehicles in Canada as it sells in the country. In exchange for that, the union has agreed to grant Ford similar concessions to the ones given to Chrysler and General Motors earlier this year.

Wages were fully defended and pensions were fully protected, the union said.

The concessions include reductions in time off and a pledge that newly hired employees will contribute to their own pension plans.

The deal comes after four days of intense negotiations. Talks started in September but had come to a standstill before developments this week.

Ford currently employs roughly 7,000 people in Canada.