LOUISVILLE, KY – Union workers at Ford Motor Co.’s Kentucky Truck Plant have overwhelmingly approved a local labor agreement covering work rules, vacation procedures, and plant safety. Of those who voted, 75 percent favored the agreement, said Rocky Comito, president of United Auto Workers Local 862. The plant on Chamberlain Lane employs about 3,500 UAW members, according to www.courier-journal.com.

Ratification of the local deal comes almost a year after approval of the union’s national master agreement. The local agreement was the same as one rejected last spring, with one exception. Workers earlier balked at contract language that allowed appointment of production leaders through a bid process. The new agreement allows such “team” leaders to be elected by line workers.

In the face of the worst auto-sales market in decades, Kentucky Truck continues to operate on just one shift, with most of its work force facing frequent weeklong furloughs.

The conversion of plant tooling to assemble Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs will begin later this year, as Ford transfers that production from the Michigan Truck Plant in Dearborn. As of August, Kentucky Truck had produced about 149,000 F-Series trucks so far this year. At that time, Ford’s Lincoln Navigator and Expedition production was about 47,000 vehicles.