Canadian Auto Workers union members ratified a tentative contract with Johnson Controls on Sunday, with more than 90 per cent of those casting ballots voting in favour of the three-year deal.

The agreement was struck early Saturday after a late-night bargaining session between the union and management at the auto parts manufacturer, which is located in Lakeshore, east of Windsor.

The two sides had been talking since Monday. The deal includes job security over the life of the contract, better benefits and a productivity payment, but no increase in wages.

The agreement means Johnson's 120 employees can remain on the job and thereby avoid interrupting production at Chrysler's Windsor assembly plant.

Johnson Controls builds overhead components, or headliners, for the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country minivans. Headliners involve wiring in the roof of vehicles and are installed during the earliest stages of assembly.

Without them, the Chrysler assembly plant would have had to shut down in about three hours, forcing more than 4,500 plant workers off the job, said CAW Local 444 vice-president Dino Chiodo.

Johnson Controls' 2009 fourth-quarter sales dropped 15 per cent, from $9.3 billion US in 2008 to $7.9 billion in 2009, forcing the company to find new ways to cut costs.