ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 21, 1997 TAG: 9702210082
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
Auto seat makers end walkouts
DETROIT - A three-week strike at two plants that make seats for Ford Motor Co. ended Thursday with tentative labor contracts between the United Auto Workers and Johnson Controls Inc.
The UAW said the plants' contracts provide wage increases of 22 percent to nearly 50 percent over the next two years, a fixed-benefit pension plan, and the same paid holidays that Big Three autoworkers get.
Workers at the plants - in Plymouth, Mich., and Oberlin, Ohio - currently are paid $9.50 to $10.50 an hour. Under the new contract, each worker will get at least a $1.50 wage increase upon ratification; those with at least two years' experience will earn $14 after the second year.
The new wages and benefits are comparable to those at other unionized parts plants, but still well below the average $19-an-hour wage that Big Three autoworkers are paid.
The strike was costly to Ford, which halted production of its highly profitable Expedition sport utility vehicle for five days after refusing to accept seats made by nonunion replacement workers. Ford then arranged for seats from other sources, but analysts estimated the lost production cost it at least $25 million in profits.
Once the contracts are ratified, Ford plans to resume getting seats from Johnson Controls, Ford spokesman Bert Serre said.
The 500 workers who went on strike Jan. 28 are scheduled to vote on the contract today.
- Associated Press
Shell building effort gets gift
American Electric Power Co. will give $1,000 toward marketing a vacant industrial building in Vista Corporate Park in Botetourt County, county officials said Thursday. The "shell" building is being constructed with an incomplete interior, pending the needs of a future occupant. It is being built in the hope that it will lure a new employer to the area. It will be complete in June.
- Staff report
Mortgage rates
Thirty-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 7.56 percent this week, down from 7.65 percent last week, according to a national survey released Thursday by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.
The decline put the rate at the lowest level in 11 weeks, when it was 7.44 percent.
On one-year adjustable rate mortgages, lenders were asking an average initial rate of 5.45 percent, down from 5.52 percent last week and the lowest in 11 months.
Fifteen-year mortgages, a popular option for those refinancing mortgages, averaged 7.06 percent this week, down from 7.14 percent a week earlier.
The rates do not include add-on fees known as points.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Medium: 59 linesby CNB