Ford and UAW bargaining intensifies as progress seen

Contract negotiations at Ford's Dearborn, Michigan headquarters continued as of Friday morning, extending the longest-running negotiating session since UAW President Ron Gettelfinger returned to the talks on Tuesday.

The marathon bargaining session began around 10 a.m. on Thursday, said a person briefed on the talks.

In four days of intensive talks, the two sides made progress on key issues centered on health care costs and Ford's planned plant closings, putting a deal within reach as soon as Friday, the person said.

But the talks remained fluid and it was still impossible to say when or whether a tentative contract could be announced, said the person.

Ford, which has some 58,000 UAW-represented workers, is widely seen as having developed the most collaborative relationship with the union of any of the three Detroit-based automakers in recent years.

But the strength of Ford's ties to the union has also been tested by its push for deeper concessions than those granted to either General Motors Corp. or Chrysler LLC.

Ford's contract with the UAW expired September 14. Both sides agreed to a rolling extension as the union focused its efforts on GM then Chrysler.

GM reached a watershed contract with the UAW in late September after a two-day strike. Under the deal, GM agreed to pay almost $32 billion to set up a trust for retiree health care and offered future investment pledges for U.S. factories.

GM and the UAW are negotiating buyouts targeting the 75 percent of its work force that will be eligible for retirement in the coming four years. That amounts to more than 54,000 of GM's 73,000 UAW workers. Those offers are not expected to be finalized until the Ford negotiations are complete.