NORMAL - Mitsubishi Motors North America and United Auto Workers Local 2488 have reached a tentative contract agreement, the two sides announced Friday morning.

Both sides declined further comment on the proposed pact until a vote by the union's 1,264 members.

Talks between the two sides reportedly focused on pay and benefit cuts, as well as the creation of a two-tiered wage system. Employees were informed of the settlement in a 10:50 a.m. announcement at the plant.

It was not immediately known when a vote would be scheduled. Attempts to reach UAW spokesman Roger Kerson in Detroit for further information Friday were unsuccessful. There was also no information on the vote posted on the Local 2488 Web site Friday afternoon.

MMNA employees have been working without a contract since the union's bargaining committee unanimously rejected an offer Sept. 6.

The base salary for a union production worker is currently $28.57 an hour, or $59,425 annually. Base pay for a union maintenance worker is $33.11 an hour, or $68,868 annually.

The latest proposal concludes about 21/2 months of negotiations that occurred in the midst of turmoil throughout the automotive industry and several years of recent struggles at Mitsubishi's only North American manufacturing facility.

MMNA's U.S. sales through August dropped 22.4 percent, from 93,724 vehicles in 2007 to 72,727 in 2008. The Normal plant is scheduled to build only 56,000 vehicles this year, according to information previously posted on the union's Web site.

As a result of declining sales, 105 union workers left the plant last month as part of a voluntary buyout. They received a lump-sum payment of $85,000 and three months of medical benefits.

That was the latest of a series of moves to hold the line on expenses. Prior to that, workers narrowly approved temporary pay and benefit cuts in exchange for job security for the duration of their contract. That $4 wage cut was restored earlier this year.

Next month also marks four years since the company laid off nearly 1,200 of its workers and eliminated its second-shift, part of a larger move by its Tokyo-based parent company to stay afloat. Earlier this year, spokesman Dan Irvin said plant production would need to consistently be about 150,000 vehicles before MMNA could consider rehiring any of those employees.

The plant, now in its 20th year, has about 1,565 employees and is McLean County's fifth-largest employer. It produces four vehicles: the Galant, the Eclipse, the Spyder and the Endeavor SUV.