Catherwood LibraryILR School

The Canadian Auto Workers voted to ratify a three-year contract with Ford Motor Co., an agreement the union expects Chrysler LLC and General Motors Corp. to match. Union spokeswoman Shannon Devine said the membership voted 78 percent in favor late Sunday. About 9,000 CAW workers work for Ford in Canada. The surprise deal, reached months before the CAW's national auto contracts expire in September, keeps Ford's labor costs essentially the same as they are now, the union said. The deal freezes wages and cuts vacation pay but avoids changes to base wages, the union said. It also prevents a two-tier wage system used in the U.S. in a contract with the United Auto Workers, where new hires would be paid about half the hourly wages of older employees.