By Mike Boyer
Enquirer staff writer
BATAVIA - Ford Motor Co. and the United Auto Workers have a tentative contract agreement over the status of 400 hourly workers. The workers were employees of ZF Group, Ford's former partner at the transmission plant here.
Whitey Klein, president of UAW Local 863 at the plant, said the company and union reached agreement shortly before the union's old agreement with ZF was to expire at midnight Monday. Final details are still being worked out, but Klein said the company has agreed to bringing the ZF employees under the existing Ford labor agreement.
Ford reacquired majority ownership of the Batavia plant last February from ZF. It has about 1,000 hourly employees at the plant, which makes a new transmission.
Ford sold a 51 percent stake in the plant in 1999 to German-based ZF Friedrichshafen AG.
A spokeswoman for Ford confirmed the agreement pending ratification by employees. She declined to provide details.
E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com
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