Ford/ACH UAW Workers to Vote on Deal with Faurecia

voters will vote April 20 on the, the company negotiating the purchase of the business in Saline.

The UAW has scheduled separate meetings with Ford and ACH employees who work at the plant. On Monday, ACH members are invited to an attend informational meetings at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. They will discuss all options and the tentative agreement with Faurecia. On Tuesday, Ford members are invited to attend informational meetings at 8 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The subjects include retirement packages, reload options and the tentative deal with Faurecia. The meetings take place at the union hall.

The ratification vote takes place from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., April 20 at the UAW 892 Hall, 601 Woodland Drive, Saline. The tentative deal is subject to ratification by members who elect to be employed with Faurecia, according to the UAW.

Ford workers electing to stay with the new company will have to agree to sign a Ford retirement package, a Ford severance package, to an agreement to transition from Ford to ACH, according to the UAW.

Tier 1 Ford/ACH workers make an annual wage of $28. Information about the wages in the tentative deal was not made available. Tier 2 ACH workers start at an annual wage of near $15.

Last week, UAW Local 892 President Mark Caruso confirmed that the union had reached a tentative agreement with Faurecia, the French auto components giant negotiating for the ACH business, which is owned by Ford Motor Company.

Caruso said that the deal means that 600 or more jobs will be shipped to Wayne County, where Detroit Manufacturing Systems, LLC, has launched with the help of $4.1 million in tax credits from the state. The company is planning to ramp-up production in 2012-2013.

Caruso said the remaining work in Saline will take up just 25 percent of the 1.6-million square-foot facility.

“I am not crazy about what's going on. This deal doesn’t give us everything we want. But we are saving union jobs,” Caruso said of the tentative deal last week. "If we didn't negotiate this contract, these jobs would go to non-union shops. We've secured jobs here in Saline."

The transition would take place over four years, Caruso said.

He also said the union local will likely puts its Saline location on the market and move to a location somewhere between Detroit and Saline.

A Faurecia spokesperson said Wednesday that there was nothing more to add to a

"Faurecia is exploring the acquisition of the Saline, Michigan, interior components plant operated by Automotive Components Holdings, LLC," said Stacie Tong, director of communications for Faurecia North America, two weeks ago. "Faurecia is in negotiations with a number of parties, including Ford and the UAW, regarding the future of the Saline plant and will issue further statements if and when the status of these negotiations changes."

The ACH plant employs 2,300 people, most of whom belong to the UAW. Employment at the Saline plant has been on the rise since 2009-10, when other operations were consolidated into the Saline plant. In 2009-10, there were 2,000 employees at the operation.

In 2011, the plant is responsible for 11 percent of the city’s tax revenue—about the amount of money the city spends on its Department of Public Works. That share of the city’s tax revenue is up from 8.5 percent as residential home values dipped.