The UAW has been on strike for more than a month and Ford Executive Chairman, Bill Ford, has called for it to end as the union is harming “tens of thousands of Americans” as well as putting the American automobile industry at risk.
In a high-profile speech at the Rouge Center in Michigan, Bill Ford said the plant “tells the story of Ford, the UAW, and America itself like rings on a tree.” He added it’s a “living history of how we have endured every crisis the world has thrown at us” including a pandemic and two World Wars.
Bill Ford went on to say “a couple decades ago, some executives wanted to shut down the Rouge” as “they thought it was just a rusting relic of another era.” However, he refused and turned the plant – which builds the F-150 and F-150 Lightning – into the “crown jewel of a company that still believes building in America matters.”
More: UAW Ramps Up Strike Action, Shuts Ford’s Biggest Plant
The executive said plants like the Rouge have “created countless well-paying manufacturing jobs and a thriving middle-class.” He added that “building things in America matters now more than ever, especially in these uncertain times.”
However, Bill Ford believes the UAW is putting all of that at risk as he said “I have watched countries lose their auto industry and then virtually all industries after that.” He noted the company is now at a crossroads due to the strike and “choosing the right path is not just about Ford’s future and our ability to compete,” but “about the future of the American automobile industry.”
He went on to decry the UAW for calling automakers the enemy as he would never consider his employees as such. Bill Ford added, “This should not be Ford versus the UAW. It should be Ford and the UAW vs. Toyota and Honda, Tesla, and all the Chinese companies that want to enter our home market.”
The executive went on to claim, “Toyota, Honda, Tesla and others are loving this strike because they know the longer it goes on, the better it is for them. They will win and all of us will lose.”
Ford said if they lose, America loses as “many jobs will be lost” and factories will be closed. While that sounds like a threat, Ford said he’s the “most pro-union leader in our industry” and noted they’re the only automaker to add UAW jobs over the past 15 years. He went on to say Ford assembles more vehicles in the United States than any other automaker and has largely resisted the temptation to move jobs to Mexico.
The executive went on to say the company is the “strongest partner the UAW has ever known” and they will “succeed or fail together.” That’s part of the reason the automaker offered a record contract, which would “make our UAW employees among the best-paid manufacturing workers in the world.”
Despite that, the UAW decided to escalate the strike and walk off the line at the all-important Kentucky Truck Plant, which builds the F-Series Super Duty as well as the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator. The move was widely seen as an act of war and Bill Ford said “shutting down that plant harms tens of thousands of Americans right away – workers, suppliers, and dealers alike.”
He added the strike will “have a major impact on the American economy and devastate local communities.” Furthermore, he said the “supply base is very fragile and will start collapsing with an expanded strike.”
Bill Ford wrapped up by saying “we can stop this now” by coming together to “bring an end to this acrimonious round of talks.” He added that, “if we seize this moment, it will mean jobs, profit sharing and security – and growth and prosperity for all of us. But the price of failure should be clear to everyone as well.”
Ford’s Statement Falls On Deaf Ears
Picture credit: UAW
In response, UAW President Shawn Fain said “Bill Ford knows exactly how to settle this strike. Instead of threatening to close the Rouge, he should call up [Ford CEO] Jim Farley, tell him to stop playing games and get a deal done, or we’ll close the Rouge for him.”
That’s a pretty pointed threat and it suggests the union is considering shutting down the Rouge and stopping production of the best-selling vehicle in America. That would be a huge escalation and one that would hurt significantly.
Fain went on to say “It’s not the UAW and Ford against foreign automakers. It’s autoworkers everywhere against corporate greed.” He added that “If Ford wants to be the all-American auto company, they can pay all-American wages and benefits.”
The union president then claimed “Workers at Tesla, Toyota, Honda, and others are not the enemy – they’re the UAW members of the future.” That sounds delusional and it appears Fain isn’t ready to make a deal.
