UAW workers at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville walked off the job on Wednesday evening, idling the factory in an expansion of the union’s strike against the automaker as the two sides negotiate a new contract.
“We have been crystal clear, and we have waited long enough, but Ford has not gotten the message,†said UAW President Shawn Fain.
Nearly 9,000 UAW workers are employed at the factory, which builds the Ford F-Series Super Duty, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.
The UAW called the plant a “very profitable” operation, which Ford echoed in a statement responding to the action, noting that the factory generates $25 billion in annual revenue.
“The decision by the UAW to call a strike at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant is grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership’s stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through ‘reputational damage’ and ‘industrial chaos,'” Ford said.
Ford said it had about 15,000 Expeditions, 5,000 Navigators and 170,000 F-Series trucks in inventory at the end of September in its latest sales report, but the F-Series number includes the light duty F-150.
The action is the first against any of Ford’s full-size truck operations. It follows the UAW’s idling of the Michigan Assembly Plant that builds the Ford Ranger and Ford Bronco midsize trucks and the Chicago Assembly Plant where the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs are built.