Some unionized workers at Ford Motor Co.’s (F) manufacturing plants in Kentucky have voted against a new tentative labour agreement with the Detroit automaker.
The local chapter of the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which represents the workers, said employees on the assembly line voted against the new collective agreement while skilled trade workers in Kentucky voted in favour of the deal.
Specifically, the UAW said that the ratification of the contract was voted down by 55% of production workers and approved by 69% of the skilled trades workers.
The union did not disclose the total number of votes cast among workers. However, the vote in Kentucky signals that approval of the new labour deal is not assured.
Ford has offered 25% pay increases over four years and will lift the top wage among unionized autoworkers to more than $40 U.S. per hour.
The tentative deal must be ratified by a majority of Ford’s 57,000 unionized workers.
UAW members are also voting on contract offers from Stellantis (STLA) and General Motors (GM) after the UAW undertook targeted but coordinated strikes against Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
Of the total votes cast at Ford’s various manufacturing facilities around the U.S., 70% of workers have voted to support the deal, according to a UAW vote tracker.
Workers at some of the automaker’s major plants, including Ford’s main truck facility in Michigan, have not yet voted.
Ford Motor Co.’s stock has declined 16% this year and now trades at $9.86 U.S. per share.
