Ford To Raise Pay For Hundreds Of Entry-Level Workers

(RTTNews) - Ford Motor Co. (F) said Wednesday that it will move about 300 to 500 hourly workers from entry-level wages to a higher pay rate, as part of its commitment in the 2011 United Auto Workers union -Ford collective bargaining agreement.

The move comes as the automaker said it will hire an additional 1,550 new workers as it ramps production to meet demand for the new F-150 pickup truck.

Ford noted that with these new jobs, it has reached its entry-level allowance outlined in the 2011 UAW-Ford collective bargaining agreement.

The company said these entry-level workers are the first group of "new traditional" employees that will transition in the first quarter, based on attrition and growth, to a higher wage of $28.50 an hour from their entry-level wage of $19.28 an hour.

The entry-level wages were agreed to by the United Auto Workers union as part of the 2007 labor negotiations. The two-tier wage structure provided the U.S. automakers with some relief when they were losing money and enabled them to remain competitive with foreign automakers.

Ford noted that the entry-level agreement has enabled it to invest more than $6.2 billion in its U.S. plants and hire more than 15,000 hourly UAW members - up from the 12,000 jobs that were promised by 2015 in the contract agreement.

The labor contracts between the Detroit automakers and UAW union will expire later this year, with the union likely to seek elimination of the two-tier wage structure amid a rebound in the U.S. auto industry.

Ford said it will add 1,550 new jobs to its Kansas City Assembly, Dearborn Stamping, Dearborn Diversified and Sterling Axle facilities to meet growing demand for the all-new 2015 F-150 pickup truck. The new jobs will be added by the company in the first quarter of 2015.

Of the 1,550 new jobs, 900 are allocated for Kansas City Assembly and 500 will be added between Dearborn Stamping and Dearborn Diversified, with the remaining 150 jobs going to Sterling Axle.

These jobs are in addition to the more than 5,000 hourly jobs added by Ford across its U.S. manufacturing facilities in 2014.