LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As promised, the United Auto Workers strike is expanding, but not yet to Louisville as progress is seemingly being made with Ford Motor Company.
UAW President Shawn Fain announced Friday morning that union workers at 38 parts plants supplying General Motors and Stellantis across 20 states will go on strike at noon. No Kentucky plants are part of the latest round.
UAW leadership held a rally and practice picket outside the UAW Local 862 hall in Louisville Thursday night. The local began preparing for a strike in early September as negotiations between the UAW and Big Three automakers continued to break down.
Many workers told WHAS11 they were ready to strike if called upon. However, Fain on Friday hinted talks between the union and Ford are going better than the other two members of the Big Three.
"In this last week, we've made some real progress at Ford. We're not there not. Ford has shown they're serious about reaching a deal."
Among the "wins" achieved with Ford recently:
- Reinstatement of a cost of living allowance that was taken away in 2009.
- Right to strike over plant closures for the first time ever.
Ford issued a statement on Friday saying:
"Ford is working diligently with the UAW to reach a deal that rewards our workforce and enables Ford to invest in a vibrant and growing future. Although we are making progress in some areas, we still have significant gaps to close on the key economic issues. In the end, the issues are interconnected and must work within an overall agreement that supports our mutual success."
Fain said Stellantis and GM, on the other hand, will need "serious pushing" in order to reach a deal with the UAW.
More than 4,000 employees work at the Louisville Assembly Plant (LAP), and another 8,500+ employees work at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP) in eastern Jefferson County.
Ford is the fourth-largest employer in Louisville, according to the chamber of commerce.
The Louisville Assembly Plant produces the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair. The facility opened in 1959 and sits on 180 acres.
The Kentucky Truck Plant produces the Ford F-250–F-550 Super Duty Trucks, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The plant opened in 1969 and is situated on 500 acres.
The F-series has been the top-selling vehicle in the U.S. for over 40 years.
The UAW is seeking big raises and better benefits from General Motors, Ford and Stellantis. They want to regain what was lost from concessions that the workers made years ago, when the companies were in financial trouble.
A small percentage of the union’s 146,000 members walked off the job at a GM assembly plant in Wentzville, Missouri; a Ford factory in Wayne, Michigan, near Detroit; and a Stellantis Jeep plant in Toledo, Ohio, last week.
Shawn Fain, the president of the UAW, says the targeted strikes give the union leverage in contract talks and keep the auto companies guessing about its next move.
It could also make the union’s $825 million strike fund last much longer.
Both sides began exchanging wage and benefit proposals earlier this month. Though some incremental progress appears to have been made — General Motors made a new, richer offer just hours before the strike deadline — it was not enough to avoid walkouts. The strike could cause significant disruptions to auto production in the United States.
The union is asking for 36% raises in general pay over four years — a top-scale assembly plant worker gets about $32 an hour now. In addition, the UAW has demanded an end to varying tiers of wages for factory jobs; a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay; the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires who now receive only 401(k)-style retirement plans; and a return of cost-of-living pay raises, among other benefits.
Perhaps most important to the union is that it be allowed to represent workers at 10 electric vehicle battery factories, most of which are being built by joint ventures between automakers and South Korean battery makers. The union wants those plants to receive top UAW wages.
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