Ford calls on workers to 'stop strike'

Ford Chairman Bill Ford warned about the impact of the auto workers' strike, which has been going on for over a month, on the American economy and called on the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) to "stop the strike." Ford Chairman Bill Ford, speaking at the Rouge factory in Michigan, said that while the UAW's strike is ongoing, they are "at a turning point" and that choosing the right path is not only about Ford's future and competitiveness, but also about the future of the American auto industry. Ford, who stated that union leaders declared themselves "enemies" in the negotiations, emphasized that he would never see his employees as "enemies." Ford stated that they know how important the UAW is to the company's success and that they have offered a contract that will make union employees among the best-paid manufacturing workers in the world. Recalling that the union went a little further last week and decided to strike at the company's truck factory in Kentucky, Ford stated that the closure of the factory in question harms tens of thousands of Americans, including workers, suppliers and dealers, and warned that if the strike continues, it will have a major impact on the American economy. Ford said this could be stopped now and that he was addressing his UAW colleagues, saying, “We need to come together to end these bitter negotiations. I still believe in a bright future that we can build together.” Autoworkers’ strike After the UAW’s negotiations on a new contract for approximately 150,000 workers with Ford, GM, and Stellantis failed to produce an agreement as of September 14, the expiration date of the current contract, approximately 13,000 workers had decided to go on strike. Thus, the autoworkers’ strike targeting the three major automakers began on September 15, and for the first time in the union’s 88-year history, workers at all three auto plants had gone on strike together. The union announced on September 22 that it would expand the strike against GM and Stellantis due to lack of progress in the new contract negotiations. As part of this, it was announced that workers would stop work at 38 more GM and Stellantis facilities in 20 states. The UAW announced on Sept. 29 that 7,000 more members at Ford and GM would strike, and that there would be no new strike at Stellantis because contract improvements had been made. Last week, the union announced that about 4,000 members were striking at Mack Trucks, a Swedish company owned by Volvo Group, in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Florida, as well as 8,700 at Ford’s truck plant in Kentucky.