The United Auto Workers expanded its strike to Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, instructing thousands of workers on the city’s Southeast Side to walk off the job at 11 a.m. Friday in the union’s ongoing labor dispute with the Big Three automakers.
In an online address to members Friday morning, UAW President Shawn Fain called on the Chicago Ford plant and a GM stamping facility in Michigan to join nearly 19,000 other autoworkers at plants and parts distribution centers nationwide on the picket line as the union seeks a new four-year contract.
“We’re on strike until they get this right,” said Chris Pena, president of UAW Local 551, which represents assembly line workers at the Chicago Ford plant.
The Chicago Ford plant has about 4,600 workers on three shifts making the Ford Explorer, Lincoln Aviator and Police Interceptor SUVs, the automaker said Friday. In 2019, Ford spent $1 billion to transform the nearly century-old Torrence Avenue facility, which phased out production of the Taurus sedan to focus on building SUVs.
The Explorer, which is made exclusively at the Chicago Assembly Plant, is among Ford’s best-selling vehicles.
Ford also employs about 1,000 hourly workers at a nearby stamping plant in Chicago Heights who are members of UAW Local 588. Those workers have not been called to strike by the union.
The UAW represents 146,000 members across the U.S. Earlier this month, the union directed about 13,000 workers to walk off the job and onto the picket line at a GM plant in Missouri, a Stellantis plant in Ohio and a Ford factory in Michigan.
Last week, Fain gave marching orders to 5,600 parts and distribution workers at 38 locations across 20 states to walk off the job, including 92 workers at a GM parts distribution center in Bolingbrook and a Stellantis facility with 95 employees in Naperville.
The union is seeking pay increases, shorter workweeks and improvements to retiree pensions and health care plans amid record profits for the Big Three automakers, among other demands.
It is the first time the UAW has called for a strike against all three automakers in the Detroit-based union’s 88-year history.
Last week, Fain cited progress in negotiations with Ford in bypassing the automaker — and the Chicago plant — from additional walkouts. This week, it was a different story, with Stellantis the only automaker spared additional strike actions.
“Despite our willingness to bargain, Ford and GM have refused to make meaningful progress at the table,” Fain said. “What we win at the bargaining table depends on the power we build on the job. It’s time to use that power.”
Ford is planning to hold a news conference this afternoon to discuss the ongoing labor negotiations and expanding UAW strike.
Gerald Johnson, who heads up global manufacturing for GM, posted an online message to employees Friday morning after the expanded strike call, saying the automaker stands “ready and willing” to continue negotiating with the UAW on a new contract.
“Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress,” Johnson said. “The number of people negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we build.”
This is a breaking story. Check back for updates.
