, Oct 17 (Reuters) – A bright red Ford Focus
sits illuminated on a platform just outside the automaker’s
Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant, a proud symbol of the
company’s success in reinventing itself under Chief Executive
Officer Alan Mulally.

The plant, which is just a 15-minute drive down Michigan
Avenue from Ford Motor Co headquarters, has become an
emblem of the automaker’s turnaround under Mulally.

, Oct 17 (Reuters) – A bright red Ford Focus
sits illuminated on a platform just outside the automaker’s
Wayne, Michigan, assembly plant, a proud symbol of the
company’s success in reinventing itself under Alan Mulally.

The plant, which is just a 15-minute drive down Michigan
Avenue from Ford Motor Co headquarters, has become an
emblem of the automaker’s turnaround under Mulally, who became
CEO in September 2006.

DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers’ tentative contract with Ford Motor Co looked assured of ratification on Sunday night after receiving overwhelming support at two major union locals, UAW officials said.

An astounding 90 percent vote in favor of the new pact at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri plant on Sunday night pushed the overall vote in favor of the new deal to 62 percent.

DETROIT, Oct 16 (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers’
tentative contract with the Ford Motor Co looked well on
its way to ratification on Sunday, after the biggest local
union pushed the overall vote in favor of the new deal to 57
percent.

With well over half of the votes cast, “yes” votes on the
new contract total 11,666 with 8,746 against ratification,
according to a union online posting.

DETROIT, Oct 14 (Reuters) – Union leaders lobbying to win
ratification for a proposed four-year contract with Ford Motor
Co won new support in a close vote with five days
remaining, a union online update showed on Friday.

The running tally as of Friday morning was 6,271 “yes”
votes and 6,085 “no” votes, according to posting by the United
Auto Workers Ford Department. That is about 51 percent for and
49 percent against.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Workers at a key Ford Motor Co plant in Chicago overwhelmingly rejected a four-year contract proposed by the company and the United Auto Workers, a local union official said on Thursday.

It was the second big Ford plant to reject the deal and the 77 percent margin throws into jeopardy the ratification of the Ford pact for the 41,000 UAW-represented production workers, said Scott Houldieson, secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 551.

DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers and Chrysler Group LLC reached tentative agreement on a four-year labor contract for the No. 3 U.S. automaker’s 26,000 hourly production workers, the union said on Wednesday.

This is the first labor pact for Chrysler since its 2009 bankruptcy and federally funded bailout.

DETROIT (Reuters) – United Auto Workers President Bob King told Chrysler plant union leaders on Monday that he hoped agreement on a new four-year contract could be reached by Wednesday, a source familiar with King’s comments said.

King and General Holiefield, lead UAW negotiator in the Chrysler negotiations, told union plant leaders that they had originally hoped to have a tentative deal in place by Monday morning, the source said.

DETROIT/MONTREAL (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union has summoned local officials representing some 26,000 Chrysler Group LLC workers to Detroit as contract talks with the No. 3 U.S. automaker near a turning point.

Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday that he expected bargaining on a new four-year deal on wages and benefits to intensify over the next three to four days.

DETROIT (Reuters) – Just as the Ranger rides into the sunset in the United States, the importance of Ford Motor Co’s (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) compact pickup truck is rising in the rest of the world.

“You know how important trucks are to Ford throughout the world,” said Joe Hinrichs, head of Ford in Asia and Africa. “And, really, with the exception of North America, (the Ranger) is the truck for Ford around the world. It’s critically important to us from Asia to Africa to South America and Australia, too.”