WEST CHESTER, Ohio — There might be light at the end of the tunnel for striking UAW members at GM's West Chester Parts Distribution Center.
The news comes after a tentative deal between the union and Ford Motor Company was announced on Wednesday night.
“I’m glad to see Ford actually taking initiative and stepping up and trying to wrap this up,” said Rick Losey, a Sharonville Ford Plant union member who was laid off on Oct. 16.
UAW Local 863 President Tod Turner said members received a robocall from Ford Sharonville Labor Relations that they are to report back to work Monday to their original department and shift. That means they’ll return to the job before the contract is ratified, Turner said.
RELATED | Sharonville plant workers could soon return to the job after UAW/Ford tentative deal
The UAW says the agreement boosts worker wages and reinstates some benefits lost during the Great Recession. Members will learn the exact details on Sunday.
“It’s been kind of a drag, but I’m excited,” Losey said. “Really, I think there’s good things to come.”
An agreement for the GM workers in West Chester has yet to be reached, but union member Greg Sparks said Ford’s agreement gives him hope.
“It’s kind of a lie having two brothers and saying: ‘Well, he got to go to the movies, how come I can’t get to go?’
In a statement, General Motors said: “We are working constructively with the UAW to reach a tentative agreement as soon as possible.”
UAW Local 674 president Janet Billingsley said she’s optimistic that the strike could soon be in the rear-view mirror.
“We’re still hopeful that … we’ll be right behind them,” she said.
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