By JoAnne Powers

4000 workers at New United Motor Manufacuring Incorpororated in Freemont, California narrowly avoided the plant's first work stoppage since 1994. United Auto Workers Local 2244 began negotiations with company executives when their contract expired at 2:00 AM local time on Saturday. A tentative agreement was reached late Sunday night, and a ratification vote is scheduled for Tuesday. Details of the agreement are being withheld until the vote.
The union and management had failed to reach an earlier agreement because the company's offer included no wage increase and would have required employees to pay almost a third of their monthly medical and dental expenses. The plant, California's only auto factory, is a joint operation of General Motors and Toyota.