Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday evening averted a strike by roughly 500 United Auto Workers members at the Dearborn (Michigan) Tool and Die plant after reaching a tentative local agreement with the union.

The deal strengthens job security involving technologies like 3D printing and establishes a process to secure additional die work, according to a UAW news release. The company agreed to eliminate a wage disparity between skilled trades workers, the Detroit-based union said. A ratification vote will be held in the coming days.

“The members at the Rouge Complex understand the power of strength in numbers,” said UAW Vice President Chuck Browning in a statement. “They stuck together and showed Ford that they were willing to stand up if necessary to win what they deserve.”

More than a year had passed since the deadline to reach a local agreement between the Dearborn automaker and the unit represented by UAW Local 600 in Dearborn. The deal doesn't affect the thousands of other workers at the Rouge complex not a part of the Dearborn Tool and Die unit.

“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new local labor contract covering Dearborn Tool & Die employees at Ford’s Rouge complex, home of the gas, hybrid and electric Ford F-150," Ford spokesperson Jess Enoch said in a statement. "Ford is proud to manufacture more vehicles in America than any other automaker. ... Consistent with the ratification process, the UAW will share details with its members.”

Core issues in the negotiation were job security, wage parity for skilled trades and work rules, the Detroit-based union said last week.

Local agreements focus on plant-specific issues beyond the union's national agreement with the companies. UAW President Shawn Fain last week gave authorization to Browning, head of the union's Ford department, to set a strike deadline of 11:59 p.m. Wednesday.

Ford invested $15 million in the plant in 2023 and had been at the negotiations table for the past year, the automaker said last week.

The agreement comes as the UAW threatens to strike Stellantis NV as soon as October over the company delaying the launch of new product at its idled Jeep Cherokee plant in Belvidere, Illinois.

©2024 www.detroitnews.com. Visit at detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.