LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Days after thousands of truck plant workers in Louisville threatened to walk off the job, the United Auto Workers union and Ford have reached a tentative agreement.
UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn confirmed the news Wednesday morning. He said the union is aiming to hold town halls next week before voting on the contract Wednesday through Friday.
Last Friday, the union issued a release that said nearly 9,000 workers at the Kentucky Truck Plant in east Louisville would strike on Feb. 23 if Ford failed to address certain issues. Point of contention included health and safety inside the plant, including minimum "in-plant nurse staffing levels and ergonomic issues," plus the company's attempts to "erode the skilled trades" at the plant.
"Workers at Ford’s most profitable plant were set to walk off the job over local issues related to skilled trades, health & safety, and ergonomics," UAW spokesman Jonah Furman said. "The tentative deal addresses these and other core issues of concern to KTP autoworkers.
"There are dozens of remaining open local agreements across the Big Three automakers, while the national contracts were ratified this fall after the union’s Stand Up Strike secured record contracts."
Ford released the following statement Wednesday:
“We are pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor contract with UAW Local 862 covering Kentucky Truck Plant and 8,700 valued UAW-Ford employees. Ford is the No. 1 employer of UAW-represented autoworkers and 2024 is one of our biggest-ever new product launch years in the U.S. – with the all-new Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator launching in Kentucky, the new F-150 and Ranger in Michigan and the new Explorer and Lincoln Aviator in Illinois.”
2023 strike background:
KTP was one of the first auto plants to walk off the job during the nationwide UAW strike in 2023. The plant is Ford's largest and most profitable, accounting for about $25 billion in annual revenue.
The 8,700 UAW-represented workers at the facility build the F-Series Super Duty, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
There are 13 plants interconnected with KTP. Facilities as far away as Buffalo and Chicago feed KTP, which then feeds Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant, and the Ohio Assembly Plant near Cleveland.
KTP was on strike for about two weeks during last year's nationwide UAW work stoppage.
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