Posts tagged Ford
Ford workers told their CEO ‘none of the young people want to work here.’ So Jim Farley took a page out of the founder’s playbook
November 30, 2025 // “He said, ‘I’m doing this because I want my factory worker to buy my cars. If they make enough money, they’ll buy my own product,’” Farley said. “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy, in a way.”
Ford CEO says he has 5,000 open mechanic jobs with 6-figure salaries from the shortage of manually skilled workers: ‘We are in trouble in our country’
November 13, 2025 // Farley said the company is doing better on wages. It got rid of the lowest tier of its wage scale, and agreed to give workers a 25% salary bump over four years as part of its agreement with the United Auto Workers union in 2023. Still, part of the problem for the shortage of manufacturing jobs is the lack of education and training, according to Farley. He noted, for example, learning to take a diesel engine out of a Ford Super Duty truck takes at least five years. The current system is not meeting the standard, he added.
Shawn Fain: Future of UAW ‘hangs in the balance’ as strike looms at Volkswagen plant
November 7, 2025 // To Fain, anything shy of total job security is not good enough. The current negotiations at Volkswagen remain stalled over a clause in Volkswagen's current offer that stipulates the company will not close the plant or cut jobs "unless conditions beyond the control of the company arise that make compliance with this commitment impractical." "American workers live in fear," Fain said. "Fear that if they ask for a dollar more, the boss is going to fire them or move the damn plant. That's economic terrorism."
The UAW Is Still Fighting to Unionize Auto in the South
October 18, 2025 // Daniel Kopp At the time of your election in 2024, you had a rather supportive National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the Biden administration. This is no longer the case, as Donald Trump is starving it of resources. Has that influenced your strategy at Mercedes? Jeremy Kimbrell You don’t change your strategy, because organizing is organizing. Workers have to have courage. You have to understand that the risk will never be zero. Inherently, you hope and expect that the risk is limited.
Teamsters president notes ‘positive change’ with growing Republican union support in Senate testimony
October 9, 2025 // Rachel Greszler, senior research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, said the complexity of collective bargaining agreements means that both workers forming a union and the employer need ample time to consider their implications for the future of the company and its workforce. "When you have a first contract, especially if you have a company that has never been involved in negotiations or a union, that it's the first time that they're representing workers, they need to understand all the issues," she explained. She also said contracts like the United Auto Workers union's agreements with automakers such as Ford can run thousands of pages when accounting for memorandums of agreement, with several hundred items covered under the bargaining agreement.
Volkswagen Breaks Off Talks With UAW Local in Tennessee
September 18, 2025 // Volkswagen VOW -1.85%decrease; red down pointing triangle made its “last, best” offer Wednesday to hourly workers represented by the United Auto Workers at its Tennessee assembly plant, and it is up to the union whether to put the proposed contract to a vote, the German automaker said. Volkswagen is offering an immediate pay hike of 5% and subsequent annual increases of 3% to 6% over four years, according to a company official. VW says a worker at its top hourly wage would earn nearly $80,000 in 2026, including an attendance bonus, before overtime and profit-sharing. Over four years, wages would rise by 20%, the company estimated.
Disputed ballots could swing outcome of union election at EV battery complex
September 2, 2025 // An election to determine whether workers unionize an electric vehicle battery manufacturing complex in Kentucky is in limbo Thursday because of a few dozen disputed ballots that could swing the outcome.
BlueOval SK begins production one week out from pivotal union vote. Here’s what that means
August 21, 2025 // Production is beginning just one week ahead of a major crossroads for workers. Plant staff will vote on whether or not to unionize with the United Auto Workers on Aug. 26 and 27.
UAW Faction Seeks to Oust President Fain in Sign of Union Unrest
August 6, 2025 // Turnout at some locals has been small. At the Sterling Heights plant that voted over the weekend, 63 workers showed up with all but one voting to oust Fain, Pillsbury said. The plant has 6,200 employees. If the union challenges any of the victories because of low voter turnout or for any other reason, he said he wants enough wins to maintain the six victories needed to push ahead.
KENTUCKY: BlueOval SK battery workers receive OK to hold union election
July 28, 2025 // We are disappointed by the dishonest tactic of the UAW in stalling a timely and fair election at BlueOval SK’s Kentucky 1 plant. The union proclaimed for months that it wants a vote because it said a “majority” of team members support the UAW. Now, the union has filed a blocking charge with the NLRB to stop this secret ballot election. This union legal maneuver is designed to thwart the election process. A secret ballot election, supervised by the federal government, will prove whether a majority of our team members want to keep their direct relationship with their leadership team or turn over their voice to the UAW.