Ford has reached a four-year contract agreement with the United Auto Workers. The deal includes a $6.2 billion investment in US auto plants, and a promise to add 12,000 jobs. Most of the new jobs will pay entry-level wages, which are about half of what more experienced employees make. The pay scale for new workers is expected to increase somewhere on par with General Motors, which raised pay between $2 and $3 an hour. The agreement still needs to be ratified by Ford workers.
See "Ford Reaches Contract Deal With UAW", Nick Bunkley, The New York Times, October 3, 2011