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　　The United Automobile Workers Union reached a tentative agreement with the Ford Motor Company early this morning after a 41-hour marathon bargaining session, completing a series of new contracts with the American auto companies．

　　No details were released, but it is expected to resemble contracts reached earlier this fall for General Motors and Chrysler LLC．

　　Unlike the G．M．and Chrysler contracts, the agreement at Ford was reached without a strike．Analysts say that Ford, which lost 12.6 billion last year, is the weakest of the Detroit auto companies．

　　“Our bargaining committee came through for our active and retired members,”the U.A.W.'s president, Ron Gettelfinger, said in a statement．He said that its bargaining team had“encouraged Ford to invest in product and people while addressing the economic needs of our active and retired members．”

　　“We face enormous challenges－and we also have enormous potential,”said U.A.W.Vice President Bob King, who directs the union's National Ford Department．“Our goals for this contract were to win new product and investment, to enhance(增强)job security and protect seniority－and we made progress in all these areas．”

　　Any job guarantees will be closely examined by union members at Ford, who have watched G..M.and Chrysler cut jobs since their new contracts were reached．

　　Ford had no immediate comment．Union leaders will review the contract next week, before it is presented to members for a vote．

　　Bargainers began the latest round of talks at 10 a.m．Eastern time Thursday．The deal was reached at 3∶20 a.m.today, about two hours after most of the negotiators had been sent home．That left a small group to finalize the terms, people briefed on the negotiations said．The U.A.W.'s president, Ron Gettelfinger, participated in most of the final session．

　　Ford shares rose more than 5 percent Friday, to 8.95, on news that a deal was close．

　　Ford was the last of the three Detroit automakers without a new four-year labor contract．The previous deal expired Sept．14, but the company and the union had agreed to an indefinite extension．

　　Some workers expressed hope that several of the plants whose future is in doubt can be saved by the new U.A.W.contract．But analysts say that if anything, Ford needs to cut costs faster．Ford has mortgaged most of its United States assets to raise cash, and executives say they do not expect the company to be profitable in North America until 2009．

　　Ford's declining sales have raised expectations that the company will announce further job and spending cuts in the near future．Ford officials held off making the cuts while they completed negotiations with the U.A.W., but the company could make an announcement before the end of the year, a person involved in the planning said．

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