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.

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Unifor Strike Targets General Motors in Canada

While the United Auto Workers (UAW) decided to implement an aggressive strike campaign that bucks some of the historical trends American union leadership feels did not serve the cause in the past, Canada’s Unifor has vowed to take a more measured approach during its contract negotiations with the industry. However, that does not mean simply rolling over for automakers in order to strike any old deal. 

Last week, Unifor criticized General Motors for failing to meet important elements of its pattern agreement with Ford Motor Company. With both sides failing to make any tentative agreements by the Monday deadline, Unifor has announced plans to strike in Ontario — hindering the company’s ability to manufacture light and heavy-duty pickups. 

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UAW Strike News Roundup

With the United Auto Workers (UAW) still striking, there have been some minor updates. Though nothing that’s likely to result in any major changes.

The union has submitted a response to a General Motors offer as picketing continues against all three Detroit-based automakers, Ford is laying off an additional 300 employees due to supply chain complications created by the strike, and the UAW has successfully negotiated a tentative deal on its 5-year contract with Mack Trucks.

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UAW Announces Another Strike Expansion

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has decided to broaden its strike on Friday. This week’s targets include Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, responsible for the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator, and General Motors’ Lansing Delta Township Assembly, responsible for the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave. 

Stellantis managed to dodge the bullet this time around, with union leadership citing progress made in contract negotiations. It seems the union liked what the automaker had to say regarding the right to strike over plant closures and cost-of-living adjustments. Ford managed to achieve something similar last week. But with the UAW hoping to pit the companies against each other by subjecting them all to strikes, it was inevitable that Blue Oval would be back under union scrutiny. 

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Biden Visits UAW Picket Lines

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden went to Michigan to join the United Auto Workers auto workers on the picket line after the union expanded striking to 38 additional GM and Stellantis facilities. While Ford has made significant headway with the UAW, even stalling construction of a Michigan battery plant as talks progress, it’s likewise still subject to strikes.

Considering UAW leadership has been extremely clear that it doesn’t want politicians interfering with negotiations since day one, it’s unclear what Biden will be doing during his trip. Thus far, he’s given a few speeches and pledged his support for unionized labor. But his position on electric vehicles has left the UAW with a lukewarm attitude.

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UAW Strike Expands

The United Automobile Workers union has expanded its strike.

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UAW Strikes Slated to Expand Next Week

America’s automotive union has committed itself to expanding strikes if leadership feels meaningful progress has not been made by the end of this week. UAW President Shawn Fain has said more factories would be called up to picket if the state of contract negotiations are still deemed lacking on Friday.

While the union hasn’t indicated which (or how many) facilities would be joining the strike, messaging from the UAW has tried to convey to the public that it’s serious about having its demands met and will do whatever it takes to reach its contract goals.

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UAW Cites Slow Negotiations as Strike Continues, Snubs Politicians

Contract negotiations between Detroit automakers and the UAW resumed over the weekend with union leadership signaling that little progress had been made. Despite Stellantis having matched the 20-percent raises offered by GM and Ford over the weekend, UAW President Shawn Fain has said the overall agreements remain unsatisfactory.

As mentioned in our earlier coverage, the union is seeking a 40 percent raise across the board through 2027 — resulting in roughly $25 an hour (around $52,000 per year) for starting employees. Some of the benefits, many of which had been rolled back as concessions during the 2008 financial crisis, are also sticking points. Fain wants workers to see those benefits restored, claiming the industry can easily afford them.

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What's the Deal? UAW Strike Deadline Nears With No Contracts Signed

Last week, Stellantis slid the United Auto Workers (UAW) a contract proposal that would raise hourly workers' pay by 14.5 percent over the next four years. The deal is roughly on par with the 15 percent initially offered by Ford and 16 percent from General Motors. It likewise said it would provide workers $10,500 in inflation-related bonuses while GM offered $11,000 at GM and Ford said it could swing $12,000. Though Stellantis doesn’t appear to be offering any contract ratification bonuses, whereas others manufacturers said they’d be happy to throw in another $5,500.

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UAW Makes Sizable Demands of GM, Ford, Stellantis

There has been loads of speculation about what the United Automobile Workers would be asking for during this year’s contract negotiations, with the assumption being that demands would be fairly lofty. Much of this was fueled by statements made by UAW leadership, especially those coming from President Shawn Fain.

Following its massive corruption scandal, union members sought a change in management and Fain is eager to prove himself as on the side of workers. He’s taken a more-adversarial approach to the industry than his predecessors and has promised to make up for ground lost over the last few decades. While demands were initially left vague, the UAW has since shared a series of specific proposals to be brought forward during contract negotiations with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis. Compared to the standards we’ve become accustomed to, they are indeed lofty.

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Report: Unifor Leadership Seeking Friendlier Approach Than UAW

Canada’s Unifor is slated to negotiate terms with Stellantis, General Motors, and the Ford Motor Company starting next month. But it appears to be taking a softer approach than what we’ve been seeing from its counterpart in the United States. 

The UAW has been promising to play hardball with automakers in an effort to regain lost ground stemming back to the early 2000s. It’s going into contract negotiations with an adversarial tone and has said it would withhold support of any politician that refused to support its demands. But Unifor seems to be taking up a more cordial tone.

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UAW Seeking Friends in Washington DC, Threatens to Withhold Biden Support

UAW leadership headed to Washington last week to drum up support from politicians as it engages in contract negotiations with Detroit-based automakers. While this has often been the status quo for the union, UAW President Shawn Fain has suggested the government would help ensure a fair deal with the automotive industry.

While union leadership has opted to meet with the usual roster of Democrats, it has said it would withhold support of Joe Biden’s reelection campaign if it didn’t think the White House would be offering the kind of help it needs.

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Union Bargaining Begins in Detroit

The United Auto Workers (UAW) is commencing contract negotiations with General Motors, Stellantis, and the Ford Motor Company this week. Members of the union’s executive board, along with UAW President Shawn Fain, appeared outside Stellantis' Sterling Heights Assembly Plant early Wednesday morning to draw attention to the talks.

The plan is to see each manufacturer as a preamble to the formal negotiations, which technically begin on Friday. But the union is also desperate to show itself in a better light after expansive corruption scandals implicated some of its now-ousted top brass. For most people living in North America, wages haven’t kept pace with the cost of living and inflationary pressures are exacerbating the issue. If there was ever a time to get the American public back on the side of unions, it’s now.

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Ohio Battery Strikers Reject Second UAW-Negotiated Deal

The strike at the Clarios battery plant in Holland, Ohio, is reportedly ongoing after workers rejected a deal struck between the company and negotiators from the United Auto Workers union. Roughly 550 employees represented by UAW Local 12 walked out on May 8th over changes to overtime eligibility and production incentives, with a select few picketing outside the factory entrance.


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Report: Ohio Court Orders Limited UAW Picketing

A little over a week ago, a few hundred workers went on strike at the Clarios battery plant in Holland, Ohio, over failed labor negotiations. While picketing is standard practice for UAW members dissatisfied with their contracts, the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas issued the restraining order on Friday to prevent striking workers from disrupting business operations and creating an allegedly unsafe environment.

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  • Wolfwagen Is it me or have auto shows just turned to meh? To me, there isn't much excitement anymore. it's like we have hit a second malaise era. Every new vehicle is some cookie-cutter CUV. No cutting-edge designs. No talk of any great powertrains, or technological achievements. It's sort of expected with the push to EVs but there is no news on that front either. No new battery tech, no new charging tech. Nothing.
  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.