Ford is reportedly shifting F-150 production capacity between two factories amid a United Auto Workers threat to strike.
Union officials at the Kansas City Assembly plant are said to have set a 1pm Sunday strike deadline as contract renewal negotiations continue to falter, according to a Detroit Free Press report.
Ford just recently began producing enough units to meet demand for the next-generation aluminum-clad pickup. Frame shortages and other issues were blamed for constraining sales in the first half of the year, with F-Series deliveries down by 8.9 percent in July. F-Series sales were up by 16 percent in September, finally pushing the pickup’s overall year-to-date numbers into positive growth.
The company is now said to be canceling overtime shifts in Kansas City and sending additional frame supplies to its Dearborn Truck Plant in preparation for a possible strike in Missouri.
UAW Local 249 bargaining chairman Todd Hillyard suggests it’s “within the company’s right” to send production to Dearborn, and UAW members at the Michigan plant “support us fully.” He claims the negotiators have struggled to agree on several issues, ranging from seniority to safety.
“The company has failed to negotiate in good faith at the local level on issues surrounding manpower provisions, the national heat stress program, and skilled trades scheduling amongst others,” added UAW VP Jimmy Settles.
In a statement, Ford said that it is “confident we will be able to negotiate a fair and competitive labor agreement with our UAW partners.”
Leave a Reply