Workers at US auto giant Ford narrowly ratified the company's four-year labor deal with the United Auto Workers, the labor union announced.
Final results showed that members voted to ratify by a 51.4 percent majority after a last minute push by union leaders put the contract over the top at the company's giant Rouge manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan, just outside of Detroit.
UAW President Dennis Williams said in a statement that "our UAW members have ratified the national agreement after a long process and much debate.
"The voice of the majority has secured a strong future that will provide job security and economic stability for themselves and their families," Williams said.
A defeat for the contract could have left Ford facing a strike for the first time in 39 years.