United Auto Workers Union Threatens Strike at Kansas City F-150 Plant

Aaron Cole
by Aaron Cole

United Auto Workers at the Kansas City, Missouri plant that produces Ford F-150s may strike as early as Sunday if the automaker doesn’t “negotiate in good faith,” according to Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president:

The challenges we face may not be easy, and I certainly cannot predict the future, but I would rather die fighting than to do an injustice to this membership or our institution.

Settles wrote to union members that issues such as “manpower provisions, the national heat stress program, and skilled trades scheduling amongst others” prompted the threatened strike at the Kansas City plant.

The threatened strike comes as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles workers reject their proposed contract that would have increased hourly pay rates for both tiered levels — but wouldn’t eliminate the system altogether.

Settles wrote in his letter to union employees that the FCA deal would have little impact on the eventual deal the union may reach with Ford.

I ask that you please do not read too much into the details of the FCA tentative agreement. Many aspects of FCA’s current agreement are different than the agreement we currently have with Ford, such as attendance policy, work schedules, vacation language, discipline, job security, apprenticeship testing, and progression of entry-level to legacy pay rates to name a few.

A spokeswoman from Ford said the company would avoid a strike.

“We work every day to avoid a disruption of our production, and we are confident we will be able to negotiate a fair and competitive labor agreement with our UAW partners,” the automaker said in a statement.

Ford also makes the F-150 at its Dearborn, Michigan facility.


Aaron Cole
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  • Superdessucke Superdessucke on Sep 30, 2015

    Why is the Bon Jovi song "Livin' on a Prayer" now stuck in my head?

  • DeadWeight DeadWeight on Sep 30, 2015

    Scumbag, parasitic, maggot union, always trying to strike the right balance between keeping their host alive & putting it into a very grave state of health, in order to suck as much blood from it as possible.

    • See 2 previous
    • DeadWeight DeadWeight on Oct 01, 2015

      @dal20402 There's no logical disagreement that much of PE operations involve, and even inherently depend on, as a matter of course (both historically speaking and business model - de facto), asset stripping. So, touché.

  • Marcus36 Marcus36 on Sep 30, 2015

    Do you hear that?...is the sound of all those jobs moving to Mexico

    • See 8 previous
    • Matador Matador on Sep 30, 2015

      @DeadWeight I have to agree completely. Look at main street- no matter what they say, it's not pretty....

  • VCplayer VCplayer on Sep 30, 2015

    This is a weird volley to me. The UAW is currently negotiating with FCA, why call out Ford? Unless there's something else going on here it seems like a totally unnecessary maneuver.

    • See 1 previous
    • Big Al from Oz Big Al from Oz on Oct 01, 2015

      VCplayer, I can see a couple of potential moves. And for once I will not lay blame on the UAW. Imagine if the new F-150 wasn't as popular as Ford likes and inventory builds? How convenient to have a reduction in production. Ford has so far come up with a different excuse each and every month for lower than anticipated sales of the aluminium F-150. Chassis shortage, manufacturing too many of the incorrect models for the market, production issues, etc. We'll see in a week or so when the "fastest moving" pickup data arrives. Ford also employed a larger workforce to produce the aluminium F-150s. How can their be labour issues? Hmmmm.........................Ford spinning again.

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