Dive Brief:
- United Auto Workers Local 862 will not go on strike at Ford Motor Co.’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville on Friday after the union and automaker reached a tentative local labor agreement, the UAW announced Wednesday.
- Last week, almost 9,000 autoworkers represented by the UAW threatened to strike the facility over skilled trades, health and safety, and ergonomics issues.
- Dozens of other U.S. facilities have yet to reach local labor agreements with the Detroit Three automakers, according to the UAW.
Dive Insight:
In addition to national labor agreements with each Detroit Three automaker, the UAW negotiates separate labor agreements for specific facilities to address local issues not covered by the master agreements struck in November.
Ford and UAW Local 862, which represents autoworkers at the Kentucky plant, were supposed to reach a local labor agreement more than five months ago, the union said Friday. However, the two sides reached an impasse over minimum in-plant nursing levels and “Ford’s continued attempts to erode the skilled trades,” among other concerns, the UAW said in a statement Friday.
Last week, Ford CEO Jim Farley said the automaker may build fewer trucks in the U.S. following the costly UAW strikes last fall.
In October, thousands of UAW-represented autoworkers walked off the job at the Kentucky Truck Plant, which builds the Ford F-Series Super Duty Trucks, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The plant generates $25 billion in annual revenue.
The automaker said the UAW strikes canceled the production of 80,000 vehicles and cost Ford $1.3 billion in 2023, wiping out the company’s third-quarter profits.
The UAW did not respond to a request for comment on the skilled trades issues.
