10/17/23 - Ford Calls On Automakers & UAW To End Strike

Automakers are frustrated that contract negotiations aren't going better and that they are not much closer to an agreement with the striking UAW members.

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford, held a press event Monday morning and called on autoworkers to come together to end a monthlong strike that he says, could cost the company the ability to invest in the future. Ford said high labor costs could limit spending on developing new vehicles and investing in factories.

Ford said their company builds more vehicles in America and has more United Auto Workers employees than any company, which has increased its costs in a highly competitive industry.

Last week 8,700 union members walked out at the largest and most profitable Ford plant in the world, the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville. Ford said the strike at the Kentucky plant is harming tens of thousands of Americans who work for parts suppliers and Ford dealers. The strike also could cause a fragile parts supply base to collapse, he said. “If it continues, it will have a major impact on the American economy and devastate local communities,” he said.

The UAW has released the following statement from President Shawn Fain in response to Ford's speech:

Bill Ford knows exactly how to settle this strike. Instead of threatening to close the Rouge, he should call up Jim Farley, tell him to stop playing games and get a deal done, or we’ll close the Rouge for him. It's not the UAW and Ford against foreign automakers. It's autoworkers everywhere against corporate greed. If Ford wants to be the all-American auto company, they can pay all-American wages and benefits. Workers at Tesla, Toyota, Honda, and others are not the enemy—they're the UAW members of the future.