UAW Workers at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant Go on Strike

On Wednesday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) announced an unexpected expansion of its strike to Ford's truck plant in Kentucky.

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The union ordered 8,700 workers to strike at Ford's highly profitable plant in Kentucky where the Super Duty truck, the Expedition, and the Lincoln Navigator are produced.

This is the third time the union has escalated the strike and the first time it has expanded the action without any public warning in advance, with its fight against the Big Three automakers in the U.S. entering day 27.

The UAW strike against the Big Three has resulted in thousands of layoffs at the automakers and their suppliers and some US$5.5 billion in economic losses to workers, automakers, suppliers, dealers and consumers.

The UAW announced the strike at three select factories of Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis on Sept. 14, after its contract with the Big Three expired.

It spread the strike to 38 GM and Stellantis parts distribution centers around the country on Sept. 22, following a failure to make meaningful progress in new contract negotiations. It further spread to GM and Ford SUV assembly plants on Sept. 29.

The UAW represents roughly 146,000 workers from the Big Three. By midday Wednesday, about 25,300 UAW workers were on strike nationwide.