LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 4,000 union workers gathered at the annual Labor Day picnic at Kentucky Kingdom Monday, hosted by the Greater Louisville Central Labor Council. It was a day off, but it was also a day for them to celebrate recent contract victories and discuss current negotiations.
"Organized labor helps make sure that those who put in a long days work earn a living wage, where they can raise their family on that one job," Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said.
Jim Mattingly is a member of United Steel Workers 1693, and works at a copper mill in Eminence. He says Labor Day is about celebrating all workers.
"The negotiations that we do, it also lifts up the non-union worker," Mattingly said. "It forces the market -- or the company, to pay a better wage."
The main issue on many people's minds was the current contract negotiations between United Auto Workers members across the country and Ford Motor Company. The two sides have until Sept. 14 at midnight to reach a deal. There are roughly 12,000 UAW members working at Ford plants in Louisville, according to UAW Local 862 President Todd Dunn.
"We have worked really hard to be as transparent as possible," Dunn said. "We have put a ton of work in to get ready for this...it's a living document, every day we're bringing something new to the membership. And what we've been trying to bring back is a job that's a career job."
Dunn said the Teamsters striking a deal with UPS on August 22 has given them a lot of confidence, and they are using many of the same strategies Teamsters used.
"Labor's really on the turn, right? We're on the rise. And you're starting to see a lot of good deals coming," Dunn said. "And there was a lot of similarities to UPS and the Teamsters agreement between Ford Motor Company and UAW. So we put a lot of their actions into play."
Beshear said Ford is also a critically important employer in Kentucky that needs a solid workforce. He hopes the two can come to a mutually beneficial agreement by the deadline.
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