Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. took the stage at the automaker’s historic Rouge factory complex to make a plea to the UAW to stop the “acrimonious” contract negotiations that led to a walkout at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant last week.
Ford highlighted how his company employs more UAW workers than any other and said that non-union brands “Toyota, Honda and Tesla are loving this strike,” warning that if an agreement isn’t reached soon, “they will win and all of us will lose.”
“Ford is the strongest partner the UAW has ever known,” he said.
Ford added that instead of “Ford versus the UAW” it should be “Ford and the UAW” versus those brands and the Chinese automakers with sights set on the U.S. market.
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The UAW strike is currently directly affecting final production of the Ford Ranger, Bronco, Explorer, Expedition, F-Series Super Duty and the Lincoln Aviator and Navigator, along with some associated facilities.
Ford made a special plea to his friends in the UAW that he has known for decades, having been involved in every contract negotiation since 1982, in an apparent attempt to appeal to the rank and file members, rather than firebrand president Shawn Fain.
The UAW did not immediately respond to Ford’s remarks.