Tag Archive for: Ford

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New UAW Analysis Shows U.S. Can Create Tens of Thousands of Auto Jobs Using Existing Capacity

Detroit, MI — Today, the UAW released a new deep-dive report, Unlocking the Potential of U.S. Auto Manufacturing Capacity, revealing that America’s auto industry has the infrastructure and skilled workforce to build millions more vehicles — and create tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs — if companies invest at home instead of offshoring production and funneling more money to Wall Street.

In 2024, the United States had the capacity to manufacture over 14.7 million vehicles at active, existing plants, but produced only 10.2 million, leaving 4.5 million units of unused capacity. Plants across the country are underutilized because of high-exploitation race to the bottom practices that kill U.S. jobs and suppress wages for workers overseas, with the difference going straight to Wall Street.

Instead of using existing capacity, the Big Three and the rest of the auto industry loot the Rust Belt for stock buybacks and special dividends. Revitalizing the auto industry’s dormant capacity could create up to 90,000 new U.S. auto manufacturing jobs in short order, according to UAW estimates.

“We don’t need to break ground on a single new plant to rapidly grow auto manufacturing capacity — it’s already right in front of us, in the plants we’ve built, the skills of our members, and the communities that depend on these jobs,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Instead of offshoring jobs to low-wage, high-exploitation countries, auto companies must invest here at home and rebuild the middle class with union labor.”

The analysis shows that major automakers — GM, Ford, Stellantis, and Volkswagen — have steadily cut U.S. production even as they expanded output in Mexico. Since 2015, these companies have reduced annual U.S. vehicle production by 1.8 million units, hitting communities nationwide with plant closures, layoffs, and underutilized facilities.

“The working class built the auto industry — and we’re ready to build its future,” Fain continued. “Auto companies should be using this moment to scale up and add good jobs by investing in workers instead of Wall Street.”

View the full report here: https://uaw.us/ExcessCapacityPaper

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Battery Workers at BlueOval SK in Kentucky File for First Major Union Election in the South in 2025

GLENDALE, Ky. — A supermajority of workers at battery maker BlueOval SK filed a petition Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to form their union with the UAW. The election filing at BlueOval SK (BOSK), a new joint venture of Ford and SK On, is the first major filing in the South in 2025 and continues the movement of Southern autoworkers organizing with the UAW.

In a new video, BOSK workers talk about why they’re voting yes to form their union. The video can be accessed here and the media is invited to use the footage. More information about the campaign, including first-person statements from BOSK workers, is at: uaw.org/bosk.

“We’re forming our union so we can have a say in our safety and our working conditions,” said Halee Hadfield, a quality operator at BOSK. “The chemicals we’re working with can be extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, a massive explosion can occur. With our union, we can speak up if we see there’s a problem and make sure we’re keeping ourselves and the whole community safe.”

The BOSK workers publicly launched their campaign to join the UAW in November once a supermajority of workers had signed union cards. The company has responded to the campaign by hiring anti-union consultants who are trying to block the workers from organizing.

“What we’re doing here can be transformative, but there are problems with management that we have to fix,” said Angela Conto, a production operator in formation at BOSK. “Instead of listening to our safety concerns, management has been ordering people to work without proper protective equipment. Now they’re trying to stop us from forming our union to win a strong voice for safety. But the strong supermajority of workers who’ve signed union cards show we’re going to fix what’s wrong at BOSK and make it the leading manufacturer of electric vehicle batteries in America.”

In December, the BOSK workers held a town hall in Elizabethtown, Ky., with UAW members from Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, which makes battery cells for GM’s electric vehicle fleet. Ultium opened as a nonunion plant in 2022, and workers there encountered many of the same problems the BOSK workers face now. An Ultium worker explained how they organized with the UAW and won a union contract with strong safety protections and life-changing raises and benefits.

“I have worked both union and nonunion jobs and have seen the power of a union firsthand,” said Andrew McLean, a logistics worker in formation at BOSK. “Right now, we don’t have a say at BOSK. With a union, we’ll be on a level playing field with management. That’s so important when you’re getting a new plant off the ground. The union allows us to give honest feedback without fear of retaliation.”

The BOSK workers are building on the victories at Ultium in Lordstown, and also at the new Ultium plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., where workers joined the UAW in September. The growing unionization movement among nonunion battery workers across the country, and especially in the South, builds off the success of the UAW’s Stand Up Strike at the Big Three and the victory by Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., who became the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to win their union when they voted to join the UAW in April.

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Supermajority of Workers at EV Battery Maker BlueOval SK in Kentucky Have Signed Union Cards, Launch Public Campaign to Join UAW

GLENDALE, Ky. – A supermajority of workers at BlueOval SK (BOSK) in Kentucky have signed union authorization cards and today launched their public campaign to join the UAW. The campaign launch at BOSK, a joint venture of Ford and SK On, is the latest breakthrough for electric vehicle (EV) battery workers organizing with the UAW.

A new video announcing the campaign can be accessed here, and the media is invited to use the footage. (More information on the campaign is available at uaw.org/BOSK.)

In the video, narrated by BOSK workers, they explain that “battery workers are autoworkers” and deserve “the good, safe union jobs” that UAW members have won elsewhere in the auto industry.

The BOSK workers are building on the victories of UAW battery workers at Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, and Spring Hill, Tenn. Ultium is the joint venture that makes batteries for General Motors’ EV fleet.

In June, UAW members at Ultium in Lordstown, Ohio, won a contract with the same strong standards that UAW members have at all General Motors facilities. In September, workers at Ultium’s new plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., formed their union and are now preparing to negotiate their union contract.

Because BOSK is currently a nonunion facility, workers there have pay, benefit and safety standards much weaker than those of UAW members at Ford. Starting pay for a BOSK production worker is just $21 an hour. UAW production workers at Ford start at $26.32, and after three years will make over $42 an hour.

BOSK workers are joining together to ensure that they achieve UAW autoworkers standards. The movement led by BOSK and Ultium workers is setting strong standards for the rapidly expanding EV battery industry. A recent study found that manufacturers have announced nearly 90,000 current or future jobs in the EV battery industry linked to more than $100 billion in investments over the last nine years.

The growing movement among nonunion battery workers across the country, and especially in the South, builds off the success of the UAW’s Stand Up Strike at the Big Three and the victory by Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., who became the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to win their union when they voted to join the UAW in April.

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UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement at Ford’s River Rouge – Tool & Die Unit

Dearborn, MI – UAW Local 600’s Tool & Die Unit at Ford’s Rouge Complex has reached a tentative local agreement with Ford Motor Company.

A deal was secured that strengthens job security by protecting against the impacts of advancements in 3D printing, along with establishing a process to secure additional die work as required. Additionally, the UAW achieved an agreement to eliminate the wage disparity for skilled trades, ensuring fair and equal pay across the board.

Now, the roughly 500 UAW members at the Dearborn facility will review the details of the agreement and hold a ratification vote in the coming days. If ratified, the agreement will set a new standard for the skilled trades at Ford.

“The members at the Rouge Complex understand the power of strength in numbers,” said UAW Vice President Chuck Browning. “They stuck together and showed Ford that they were willing to stand up if necessary to win what they deserve.”

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UAW Serves Strike Notice at Ford’s River Rouge – Tool & Die Unit Over Local Agreement Issues Including Job Security, Wage Parity and Work Rules

Dearborn, MI – The Tool & Die Unit at Ford’s River Rouge Complex will strike on Thursday, September 26 if local contract issues are not resolved.

After Ford Motor Company has failed to reach a local agreement with the UAW Local 600, Tool & Die Unit at the Rouge Complex more than a year past the contract deadline, UAW Vice President Chuck Browning has received authorization from UAW President Shawn Fain to set a strike deadline for 11:59 p.m., Wednesday, Sept 25.

The core issues in the Tool & Die Unit’s local negotiations are job security, wage parity for Skilled Trades, as well as work rules.

In addition to the UAW’s national contracts, UAW members negotiate local agreements around plant-specific issues at each facility.

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New UAW Video Marks Anniversary of Historic “Stand Up” Strike Against Big Three Automakers and Significant Victories Since

Today, the UAW released a new video marking the one-year anniversary of one of the most consequential union campaigns in recent history. At midnight on September 15, 2023, thousands of workers walked out at plants at each of the Big Three automakers, launching the historic “Stand Up” strike.

The video can be accessed here, and the media is invited to use the footage.  

“When we went on strike on September 15, the Big Three had a combined $12 billion in new gains on the table for our union,” narrates UAW President Shawn Fain. “By the end of our Stand Up strike, that amount had grown to over $23 billion. The Big Three nearly doubled the money on the table.”

The video highlights the success of the “Stand Up” strike, from ending wage tiers, to winning COLA and significant raises, to security protection from plant closures.

“They told us we would never win back cost of living allowance,” Fain continues. “They told us we would never win the right to strike over plant closures. They told us we would never put an end to wage tiers, or a permanent underclass of temporary workers. But we did.”

The strike also led to the automakers agreeing to fold electric vehicle battery plants into the master agreement. Months later, Ultium workers ratified an industry-setting, first-ever union contract at a battery plant in Lordstown, OH.

 

The video’s full transcript via President Shawn Fain is available below:  

“The best thing we can do for one another is show each other how to be brave, how to be creative, and how to stand up for economic and social justice. That’s what our Stand Up Strike was all about.

“2023 was the first time the UAW President has refused to shake hands with the company CEOs, and instead shook hands with the members. It was the first time we updated our members directly on the company’s proposals throughout negotiations.

“It was our first time using a Stand Up Strike strategy. We ran the longest national contract strike at the Big Three since 1973. This was the first time in UAW history that we hit all three companies at once.

“We had doubters, but we also had champions. We had leaders and we had organizers. And I don’t mean people like me, I mean, you, the workers. The members who really run this union. People who take the word solidarity and make it mean something.

“If you’d have told me 30 years ago we could take on all three of the Big Three at one time, and win more in one contract than we have in decades, and if you told me that the vast majority of American public from my next door neighbors to the President of the United States would stand with us, I probably wouldn’t have believed it.

“When we went on strike on September 15th, the big three had a combined $12 billion in new gains on the table for our union. By the end of our Stand Up Strike, that amount had grown to over $23 billion. The Big Three nearly doubled the money on the table.

“They told us we would never win back cost of living allowance. They told us we would never win the right to strike over plant closures. They told us we would never put an end to wage tiers or permanent underclass of temporary workers. But we did.

“They said you can’t win a commitment to reopen Belvidere. And now of course the company’s trying to say you can’t enforce a contract. So we intend to fight like hell to make this company keep their promise.

“We managed to bring thousands of EV and battery jobs under our national agreements with a pathway for some of the Lordstown GM members to finally return home.

“We won $1.25 billion for current retirees, which is easily a billion more than we’ve won the last four contracts combined.

“And after we won these historic contracts at Ford, GM and Stellantis, nonunion employers were tripping over themselves to hand out raises in an obvious attempt to discourage employees from organizing. We called those raises the UAW Bump.

“This movement won a historic victory at Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where workers overwhelmingly voted to unionize. 73%, that’s not just a victory, that’s a blowout.

“But I also want to make sure we remember we won something else too. We won back our dignity as auto workers. What we won in these agreements is a new muscle, a new chapter in the story of the UAW. Ordinary people did extraordinary things. Our solidarity is our strength. Our strength is the hope of working-class people everywhere. For ourselves, for our families, for our communities, for our country, and for our future.”

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UAW Delegation to Germany to Confront Union-Busting at Webasto

Detroit, MI – UAW announced today that a delegation of UAW leaders will bring major concerns about illegal anti-union behavior at Webasto, a German parts supplier with plants in the Detroit area, to counterparts in Germany at a meeting scheduled for next week. The delegation comes after Webasto workers had previously filed Unfair Labor Practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board. UAW also says that it is actively considering whether to file an additional complaint in German Court if Webasto’s illegal anti-union activities do not stop.

“We’re just asking for Webasto to respect our basic rights,” said Isaiah Towns, who works in Webasto – Detroit’s Bonding department. “No one should have to go through what Webasto has been subjecting us to. It’s time for the threats, harassment, and bullying to stop.”

A clear majority of the approximately 600 workers at Webasto – Detroit had previously filed for their union election in late July. The election has been scheduled for September 9 and 10. Workers at the plant report facing excessive anti-union harassment and intimidation from Webasto management. The factory makes the roof top used on the Ford Broncos manufactured by UAW members at the Michigan Assembly Plant. Webasto has distributed anti-union literature with the Ford Bronco logo prominently displayed along with the message “No Bucking Union.”

“This company needs to be held accountable,” said Pelle Burnett, who works in Webasto – Detroit’s PU department. “Webasto has shown that they will go to any length to stop us from winning the right to bargain collectively together. Even though we haven’t won our union yet, we’re still ready to Stand Up to make this unacceptable behavior stop.”

Among other examples of anti-union activity, workers say Webasto has:

  • Disciplined, isolated, intimidated, and terminated workers in retaliation for their union support
  • Changed policy to require workers to get permission before using the bathroom and then prevented a union supporter from using the bathroom for two hours
  • Required workers to attend captive audience meetings
  • Used video cameras to surveil union activity
  • Maintained an unlawful rulebook

An Unfair Labor Practice charge filed with the NLRB noted 17 separate instances of unlawful conduct committed by Webasto managers at the time of the filing. The National Labor Relations Board is actively investigating the charge.

In addition to Webasto’s obligations under American law, if the company is found to be in violation of German law, they could face serious financial sanctions.

An LM-10 filed with the U.S. Department of Labor revealed that Webasto previously paid over $300,000 to an anti-union consulting firm to try to persuade workers at the Webasto-Pilot Road plant against forming a union with the UAW. Ultimately, those workers were able to overcome the anti-union campaign and win a first contract that included raises of up to 51% over three years, better benefits, and improved attendance policies.

In addition to the election at Webasto – Detroit, a clear majority of the approximately 35 workers at Webasto’s Hearns facility filed to form their union on August 27 with the UAW. An election date is in the process of being scheduled.

“Workers want a voice. Workers want to be able to have a free and fair election. Workers want to have their rights respected,” said Steve Gonzales, president of UAW Local 3000. “And we will never back down in making sure that workers win what they deserve.”

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UAW Local 862 Reaches Tentative Local Agreement at Ford Kentucky Truck Plant, Averting Strike

LOUISVILLE – After months of negotiations over local issues, UAW Local 862 has reached a tentative local agreement with Ford Motor Co., averting a potential strike this week. 

Workers at Ford’s most profitable plant were set to walk off the job over local issues related to skilled trades, health & safety, and ergonomics. The tentative deal addresses these and other core issues of concern to KTP autoworkers. 

There are dozens of remaining open local agreements across the Big Three automakers, while the national contracts were ratified this fall after the union’s Stand Up Strike secured record contracts. 

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Nearly 9,000 UAW Autoworkers Serve Strike Notice at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant Over Local Agreement Issues Including Health & Safety and Skilled Trades

Louisville, KY – Nearly 9,000 UAW autoworkers at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant will strike on Friday, February 23rd if local contract issues are not resolved.  

After Ford Motor Company has failed to reach a local agreement with UAW Local 862 at Kentucky Truck Plant more than five months past the contract deadline, UAW Vice President Chuck Browning has requested authorization from UAW President Fain to set a strike deadline at Kentucky Truck Plant for 12:01 a.m., Friday, February 23rd.  

The core issues in Kentucky Truck Plant’s local negotiations are health and safety in the plant, including minimum in-plant nurse staffing levels and ergonomic issues, as well as Ford’s continued attempts to erode the skilled trades at Kentucky Truck Plant. 

Ford autoworkers at Kentucky Truck, along with 150,000 autoworkers at GM, Ford, and Stellantis, won historic raises and contract improvements in national negotiations last year. UAW members at Kentucky Truck played a leading role in the Stand Up Strike that secured those victories.  

In addition to the UAW’s national contracts, UAW members negotiate local agreements around plant-specific issues at each facility. Along with Kentucky Truck Plant, there are 19 other open local agreements across Ford, along with several open local agreements at GM and Stellantis. 

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