LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Workers at the Ford Motor Company’s largest plant in Louisville are on strike. Workers now join thousands of other auto workers on strike at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis facilities around the country.
Jeff Nunn has worked for the Ford Motor Company for almost 29 years. He started back in 1995 and says it’s been a fun and challenging.
“I like the people I work with. A lot of good people here.” Jeff Nunn, a team leader in the SUV paint department, explained while on the picket lines.
Nunn said this is the first time he has ever gone on strike.
“Think about when I hired in, in 1995, I made $12.56 an hour. I just brought a new guy on my team last week. He makes $16 an hour,” he explained. “The average price of a vehicle when I hired in was $24,000. Now, it’s $50,000. So, the rate of pay has not increased at the same rate of the price of the vehicle, so the company’s making more and more money. We feel we’ve earned the right to ask for a little more.” Nunn added.
Ford says the Kentucky Truck Plant is their largest plant and one of the largest auto factories in America and the world.
“We’re not asking for a whole lot. We’re asking for what we gave up. We gave up cost-of-living, we gave up raises. We have people hired in that do not have insurance when they retire,” David Firkins, the UAW Local 862 bargaining representative, explained. “We need a secure product just across the street at LAP [Louisville Assembly Plant]. We need to make sure that when everybody retires, their benefits are there. We got people in here right now making $17 an hour. You can make that money at McDonald’s. We’re not going to stand for it anymore.”
Ray Cunningham works as a fitter in the body shop. He’s worked there for almost nine years. This is his first time striking as well.
“We just want our fair share at the end of the day, that’s all it is. They are going to get there’s, we want to get ours so we can take care of our families and provide for a future for our families,” Cunningham shared.
According to one of the strike team captains, workers will be out striking around the clock in four-hour shifts until this strike is over.
In a call with reporters Thursday afternoon, Ford executives said the company wants to achieve a record contract and say they have been bargaining in good faith.
An executive also said their offer includes unprecedented improvements in wages and provides straight benefits and job security, adding it would change employees’ lives for the better. They said all things considered, it’s an incredibly positive offer. A Ford Executive said if this goes on, they expect some kind of ripple-effect impact this week on some component plants.
On its website, Ford released a statement that says in part:
“Ford made an outstanding offer that would make a meaningful positive difference in the quality of life for our 57,000 UAW-represented workers, who are already among the best compensated hourly manufacturing workers anywhere in the world. In addition to our offer on pay and benefits, Ford has been bargaining in good faith this week on joint venture battery plants, which are slated to begin production in the coming years. 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.”
The National UAW President, Shawn Fain, said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, that the bargaining committee has been working hard for membership and went to Michigan yesterday for another offer from Ford. Fain said they got the same offer they did two weeks ago. They feel like Ford isn’t taking them seriously.