Nearly three weeks after workers soundly rejected a tentative agreement, voting at several Fiat Chrysler plants showed strong support Wednesday for a new contract that would enable entry-level hires to gain wage parity with veteran employees.

Official results for the two-day balloting period, which ended Wednesday night, are not expected until Thursday.

But the contract was approved handily at several United Automobile Workers locals, including at least one, Local 1264, that had rejected the earlier tentative deal. The local represents about 2,000 stamping-plant workers in Sterling Heights, Mich.

The agreement covers 36,000 hourly workers and about 4,000 salaried workers at Fiat Chrysler. The union will use the ratified pact as a template for final negotiations with Ford Motor and General Motors.

More than 40 percent of Fiat Chrysler workers are entry level. Under the old contract, they earned $16 to $19 hourly, compared with $28 for workers with more seniority. Under the new agreement, those workers will earn about $29 an hour after eight years.

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The New York Times