UAW Launches Surprise Strike Against Ford Kentucky Truck Plant

The United Auto Workers (UAW) launched an unexpected strike against Ford Motor Company, targeting its extremely important truck works in Kentucky. While the plan was always to gradually turn up the volume on the industry, hoping to extend the union strike budget while inflicting the maximum desired effect on automakers during contract negotiations, this decision represents a major blow against Ford.

Those pickups are incredibly important to Blue Oval’s bottom line and the UAW knows it better than anyone. In fact, Ford has already released a list of 13 plants that will be impacted by the latest action taken by the union. Layoffs and potential work stoppages are anticipated in the days to come.

Ford’s Kentucky Truck Assembly, located in Louisville, is responsible for Ford Super Duty pickups, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator. The facility employs over 8,500 people with workers participating in a profit-sharing scheme that affords them an additional $1,000 (atop any bonuses they were getting) for every billion Ford makes in North American pretax profits. That makes the stakes slightly higher for them than other striking UAW members, as a prolonged strike will undermine the automaker’s annual profitability.

Despite the union appearing to make relatively good progress with Ford in recent weeks, the automaker reported that the UAW was informed Wednesday that it wanted a counteroffer and meeting by 5:30 that would bring in union leadership. While the meeting was said to have taken place, it allegedly did not go very well. Ford claimed that it wrapped in just a few minutes with the UAW announcing that Kentucky Truck Assembly would be next to strike.

A formal walkout of the facility followed at 6:00 P.M. (ET).

“We have been crystal clear, and we have waited long enough, but Ford has not gotten the message,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a release. “It’s time for a fair contract at Ford and the rest of the Big Three. If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it.”

The union intends on having Fain host another Facebook Live on Friday morning to give bargaining updates and “take further action if needed.”

Todd Dunn, the president of the relevant UAW Local 862, told the Louisville Courier-Journal that Ford stands to lose $30 million per day in profits if the truck plant remains closed.

"This work stoppage will generate painful aftershocks — including putting at risk approximately a dozen additional Ford operations and many more supplier operations that together employ well over 100,000 people,” Ford noted after the strike had been announced.

Even UAW members seemed surprised by the action, with numerous people on the picket line claiming they had less than two hours of advanced warning.

Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant will likely be shuttered in the coming days due to their reliance on the striking facility. The next sites to be affected include the Sterling Axle Plant, Michigan Assembly Plant, Dearborn Stamping, Buffalo Stamping, Chicago Stamping Plant, Sharonville Transmission, the Cleveland Engine Plant, the Windsor Engine Plant, Rawsonville Components, Dearborn Diversified Manufacturing, and even the Chihuahua Engine Plant located in Mexico.

[Image: UAW]

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