The factory builds the F-150, the best-selling nameplate in the US auto market and one of Ford’s most profitable models. The disagreement comes at a sensitive time, as production of the redesigned aluminum-clad pickup struggles to ramp up to full speed amid frame shortages and other issues.
The first signs of trouble emerged early last month as local union officials threatened to strike at the beginning of contract talks. Ford reportedly made preparations to shift capacity to its Dearborn plant, however the immediate conflict was later resolved and Kansas City averted a strike.
“This agreement does not have everything that members had hoped for but it is a fair agreement with raises for everyone and has the path to full pay for entry level members,” UAW Local 249 officials wrote in a Facebook post ahead of the latest ratification vote. “With Mexico at $10 an hour and the company continuing to invest and expand there you don’t want to negotiate agreements that force jobs out of the country or out of our plants.”
Despite the discontent in Kansas City, the majority of Ford’s 52,900 unionized workers have voted in favor of the agreement, according to The Detroit News.
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