The United Auto Workers tentative contract with the Ford Motor Co took a big step toward ratification on Sunday when the biggest local union voted 62 percent for the new deal.

UAW Local 600 based in Dearborn, Michigan, where Ford is also headquartered, voted 3,255 to 2,027 in favor of the new four-year contract, according to an online posting by the UAW Ford Department.

Local 600, which includes workers at the Dearborn Truck Plant where the company's successful F-Series pickup truck is made, accounts for about 14 percent of all Ford unionized workers.

The convincing yes votes will widen the lead of those in favor of the deal from the 56-percent count as of Saturday when 44 percent of the vote had been tallied.

After returns last week ran against the contract at three large Ford plants, the tide has been reversed, in part by intense lobbying by UAW leaders who told workers it was the best deal possible in difficult economic times, local plant officials said.

Ford workers vote on the proposed pact until Tuesday, and full results are expected on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Ford Motor Company