Ford Motor Co. has agreed to build a fourth vehicle at its Oakville, Ont., assembly complex as part of a tentative agreement between the auto maker and the Canadian Auto Workers union.
The vehicle is expected to be a version of the Lincoln MKT crossover utility vehicle that Ford executives unveiled in Detroit in January, industry sources said, and could go into production as soon as December.
It's a seven-seat luxury crossover that comes off the same platform - or basic vehicle underbody - as the Ford Flex CUV, another vehicle for which Ford has high hopes.
Workers in Oakville already assemble the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX five-seat crossovers, which stand out as one of the few hits for Ford and the Detroit Three auto makers in the current sales slump in the U.S. market.
CAW president Buzz Hargrove would not comment on the addition of a fourth vehicle to Oakville, but he said Ford had agreed to a major upgrade of the Edge and the MKX during the three-year term of a tentative agreement the union and the company reached last week.
That deal was voted on by workers during the weekend at plants in Oakville, Windsor, Ont., St. Thomas, Ont., and a parts depot in Brampton, Ont.
Stacey Allerton Firth, who appeared with Mr. Hargrove to talk about the tentative agreement at a news conference on Friday, said she would not talk about specific details of the contract until it has been ratified by the workers.
"We believe it is fair to our employees and retirees and paves the way for Ford to increase its competitiveness in Canada," said Ms. Allerton Firth, vice-president of human resources at Ford Motor Co. of Canada Ltd. She left before reporters began asking questions.
Mr. Hargrove and CAW representatives will discuss what's in the Ford agreement today with Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. as they consider which of the other two companies to negotiate with next.
Both auto makers should agree to the economic provisions of the deal in the tradition of what is known as pattern bargaining, which involves the union reaching an agreement with one company, then using that as a template for the overall economic issues such as wages, benefits, pensions and other provisions that are applicable to all companies.
"They can tell us, 'Look, we'll see you in September' if they want to put themselves in a bad light, but I don't expect them to do that," Mr. Hargrove said of Chrysler and GM. "The history of our bargaining and our relationships with all the companies are good."
The CAW and Ford reached agreement on a contract almost five months before their existing agreement expires in September.
If Chrysler and GM accept the pattern established at Ford, they would still need to negotiate local issues at their plants in Ontario.
They could decide to adopt the usual schedule of negotiations and start substantive talks on local issues this summer to meet the deadline.
Under Ontario labour law, the CAW cannot go on strike in the middle of a contract, so the union is not permitted to set a strike deadline for the other two companies, which would be the normal practice once a contract has expired.
© The Globe and Mail
