The United Auto Workers (UAW) has announced in a press release that its members have voted to ratify the new four-year collective bargaining agreement with Ford Motor Company.
The approval, though, only won narrowly with only 51.4 percent of the members voting to ratify the new agreement.
Dennis Williams, the president of UAW, said in the press release that the agreement was finally ratified following a "long process and much debate."
"The voice of the majority has secured a strong future that will provide job security and economic stability for themselves and their families," he said.
Jimmy Settles, the vice president of UAW Ford, adds in the press release that there is "no higher authority than the membership."
"Through a fair and democratic process UAW-Ford members have delivered job security and strong economic gains for their families and communities," he said.
UAW adds in the press release that 51.3 percent of Ford's production workers were in favor of ratifying the agreement.
Most of the automaker's skilled trades workers also voted in favor with 52.4 percent of them agreeing to ratify the agreement.
The Chicago Sun-Times adds that the narrow approval was due to some workers saying that the union didn't push back hard enough to win some of the things that the workers lost in previous agreements, including the annual wage increase.
Some of the workers are also pushed for the two-tier wage system to be eliminated immediately instead of the eight years that the contract promised.
The Chicago Sun-Times adds that union leaders had held a press conference earlier this week to push for the agreement with Ford to be ratified.
They said that they might not get a better deal from Ford if workers reject the current deal and go back to the negotiating table.
Bernie Ricke, the president of Local 600, a large union in Dearborn, told the Chicago Sun-Times that if there was a better deal available, they would have gotten it instead.
"If we thought there was another dollar on the table, we would have got it the first time," he said.
John Fleming, the labor chief at Ford, told the Chicago Sun-Times that they are pleased with the vote to ratify the agreement.
He said that the new agreement presents a good foundation for the company, their workers, and the community as they all work together "to create an even stronger business in the years ahead."
