GM workers ratify contract, 40-day strike to end

TOM KRISHER AP Auto Writer ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) — General Motors workers voted 57.2% in favor of a new contract with the company, bringing an immediate end to a contentious a 40-day strike that paralyzed GM's U.S. factories. Workers voted 23,389 in favor of the deal, with 17,501 against it, according to a statement Friday from the United Auto Workers union. The union now will turn its attention to bargaining with crosstown rival Ford Motor Co. The vote means that workers will put down their picket signs and return to their jobs. Some will start as early as Friday night, and some production could resume on Saturday. Skilled trades workers will begin restarting factories that were shuttered when 49,000 workers walked out on Sept. 16. The deal includes a mix of wage increases and lum