DETROIT – Nearly 9,000 UAW suddenly walked off the job Wednesday, Oct. 11, effectively shutting down Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant.
The Louisville plant is Ford’s largest facility. It makes the Ford Super Duty line of pickups, Ford Expeditions and the Lincoln Navigator. The automaker said the vehicles produced at the Kentucky Truck Plant generate roughly $25 billion annually.
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According to the union, the strike was called “after Ford refused to make further movement in bargaining.”
Officials with Ford call the move “grossly irresponsible,” and that it would cause consequences for workers, suppliers, dealers and more.
Related: Here’s how many autoworkers have been laid off by Big Three amid UAW strike
While previous expansions of the UAW strike have happened on days set up in advance, the union said Wednesday’s surprise walk out marks a “new phase,”
“We have been crystal clear, and we have waited long enough, but Ford has not gotten the message,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “It’s time for a fair contract at Ford and the rest of the Big Three. If they can’t understand that after four weeks, the 8,700 workers shutting down this extremely profitable plant will help them understand it.”
Fain will go live on social media at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 to provide the latest updates. It can be watched on ClickOnDetroit and Local 4+.
