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Ford-CAW gap narrows
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September 20, 1999: 10:53 a.m. ET
Union chiefs handicap chance of averting Canadian strike at about 60%
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Ford Motor Co. improved its contract offer in talks with the Canadian Auto Workers union over the weekend -- and that has labor officials saying a settlement may be possible to avert a strike at the No. 2 U.S. auto maker's Canadian operation, according to media reports Monday.
There were few details about just what the improvements were, but Reuters news service reported that the union now estimates the likelihood of a favorable agreement on a new three-year contract at about a 60 percent chance.
The reported progress comes just days after CAW chiefs slammed Ford Canada's first offer, which included a one-percent wage hike for the next 3 years and other proposals that CAW President Buzz Hargrove on Friday called "a recipe for a strike" and "an insult to Ford workers."
Hargrove said the union's pre-eminent issue has been pensions, and that Ford Canada offered only lump-sum payments of C$500 per year for retirees before 1987.
A CAW spokesman said the union is planning a news briefing Monday afternoon.
The CAW is in continuing negotiations with Ford Canada to reach an agreement by 11:59 p.m. ET Tuesday in order to avoid a walkout, the union spokesman said.
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