In a rare speech during contract talks in the company’s hometown of Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford said high labor costs could limit spending to develop new vehicles and invest in factories.
UAW President Shawn Fain told workers in a live video appearance that the companies started gaming the system, waiting until Fridays to make progress in bargaining.
The apparently widening labor rift indicates that Ford and the UAW may be in for a lengthy strike that could cost the company and workers billions of dollars.
The surprise move at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday took down the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world. The sprawling factory makes pricey heavy-duty F-Series pickup trucks and large Ford and Lincoln SUVs.
The UAW contends that the layoffs are unjustified and were imposed as part of the companies’ pressure campaign to persuade union members to accept less favorable terms in negotiations with automakers.
With the UAW strike now in its fourth week, EVs and their potential impact on job security have become central to union negotiations with the automakers.
IBJ reporter John Russell talks about his recent trip to Kokomo to learn how the union boss was shaped by his experiences there.
The United Auto Workers union will announce Friday afternoon whether it will widen its strike to additional factories at Detroit’s biggest vehicle manufacturers after another week of tense contract bargaining.
The report of progress raises the possibility that the union might decide not to expand its walkouts at one or more of the companies.
The United Auto Workers strike against the Big Three automakers is once again having an effect on Indiana workers.
Union President Shawn Fain told workers on a video appearance Friday that negotiations haven’t broken down but Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress.
The United Auto Workers union said it will broaden its strike at noon Friday unless there is last-minute progress in contract talks with Detroit’s Big Three automakers.
Additional walkouts will take place at noon Friday without serious progress in contract talks, the United Auto Workers union said.
Labor historians say they cannot recall an instance when a sitting president has joined an ongoing strike, even during the tenures of the more ardent pro-union presidents such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Harry Truman.
In a statement, UAW President Shawn Fain called the move “a shameful, barely-veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs” at a plant that’s not open yet.
The UAW on Friday targeted GM and Stellantis distribution centers throughout the United States. Ford was spared additional walkouts because the company has met some of the union’s demands.
UAW President Shawn Fain has not said which plants would be affected next—the union’s stated strategy is to “keep the companies guessing.”
A clue of possible strike targets might be found in locations where UAW locals have announced they will hold rallies and practice picketing in the coming days. Those include a Ford plant in Louisville and a GM plant in Bedford, Indiana.
Stellantis, which makes Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, said Wednesday that the layoffs are a consequence of the strike at its assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio.
UAW President Shawn Fain said workers at more factories will join those who are now in the fifth day of a strike at three plants.
