Some 8,700 employees at a Ford site in Kentucky, in the central United States, stopped work on Wednesday, October 11, at the call of the UAW union, in response, according to the organization, to the manufacturer’s refusal to make more concessions in negotiations on a new collective agreement.
These employees from a Louisville factory have joined the ranks of the workforce already on strike within the three major historic American automobile manufacturers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis (Chrysler), to bring them to nearly 34,000, while the The movement has been going on for almost four weeks. About 23% of unionized employees are now furloughed within the “Big Three,” a term that refers to the three manufacturers.
“The work stoppage” initiated on Wednesday and which concerns a factory manufacturing pick-ups, “was decreed after Ford refused to go further in negotiations,” explained the UAW in a press release, warning that “this surprise decision marked a new stage” in the social conflict.
“We have been very clear, and we have waited long enough,” said the president of the powerful union, Shawn Fain, quoted in the press release, “but Ford did not understand the message. »
Salary increases
“It is time to reach a fair agreement at Ford and the other members of the Big Three [GM and Stellantis],” the union official continued. “If they don’t understand it after four weeks, the work stoppage of the 8,700 employees of this very profitable factory will help them. » The UAW indicated that its president would hold his weekly update Friday on the status of discussions.
Last week, the union decided not to mobilize more of its members, unlike in previous weeks, reporting “significant progress” in negotiations.
Discussions stumble in particular on the amount of salary increases. The UAW is demanding some 40% increase over the four years of the new contract, while Ford has only gone as far as 23%, with GM and Stellantis stopping at 20%.
In a separate statement, Ford called the UAW’s announcement “grossly irresponsible,” warning that the expansion of the strike “will have painful consequences” including on other sectors of the company as well as its suppliers.