Chrysler's Largest UAW Local Approves New Contract

DETROIT (AP) — Workers at Chrysler's largest United Auto Workers local have voted in favor of a new four-year contract.

Committeeman Bobby Jackson says United Auto Workers Local 685 in Kokomo, Ind., voted for the deal on Tuesday. Vote totals were not available.

The vote is a sign that the contract is likely to be approved in voting that ends next week. The Kokomo local was among the first to count ballots.

The 3,500-member local includes workers at three transmission factories.

The deal includes a $3,500 signing bonus and profit-sharing. But it has no annual raises for most workers. It creates up to 2,100 new jobs and promises $4.5 billion worth of investments at U.S. plants.

The deal isn't as rich as the contracts approved by workers at Ford and General Motors.