After weeks of tense labor negotiations between the United Auto Workers union and the Big Three automakers, UAW President Shawn Fain on Thursday directed 8,700 union members to strike against Ford Motor Company’s truck plant in Louisville, Kentucky, its largest U.S. factory.
The strike shut down production of some of Ford’s most popular and profitable vehicles, including Ford F-250–F-550 Super Duty Trucks, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs. According to Ford, the plant generates $25 billion a year in revenue.
In a statement, Ford says the strike will have a ripple effect, potentially affecting a dozen additional Ford operations and more suppliers that employ over 100,000 people.
“The UAW leadership’s decision to reject this record contract offer – which the UAW has publicly described as the best offer on the table – and strike Kentucky Truck Plant, carries serious consequences for our workforce, suppliers, dealers and commercial customers,” Ford said.
The UAW has been on strike since Sept. 15, after its contracts with the Big Three automakers expired. However, rather than a full member walkout, the union has asked members to strike at targeted locations as part of its “stand-up strike” against the automakers.
The UAW wants to “keep the companies guessing” to give the union’s negotiators more power at the bargaining table, Fain said last month. The strategy also aims to pressure General Motors and Stellantis to reach new labor agreements with the UAW.
“Our Stand Up strategy has won important victories at the table, but we must go further,” the UAW said in a statement. “We will keep increasing the pressure on Ford and all of the Big Three until we’ve won our fair share of the record profits we’ve made at Kentucky Truck and every Big Three plant.”
Ford called the surprise strike at its Kentucky assembly plant “‘grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership’s stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through ‘reputational damage’ and ‘industrial chaos.’”
On Oct. 2, Ford made its seventh offer to the UAW to reach a tentative agreement that would run through April 30, 2028. It includes pay raises of more than 20% for full-time hourly employees, ending tiered wages, cost-of-living adjustments, a reduced timeline to reach top wages, increased 401(k) contributions and more paid time off.
In a statement, the UAW said the offer was the same as the one Ford submitted two weeks ago and was “an unacceptable move.”
