DETROIT (Michigan News Source) – With the ongoing fear of a United Auto Workers strike, recently revealed documents indicate that Ford Motor Company has been working on a solution: transferring white collar workers to help fill the potential blue collar occupations.
“We are working hard to reach a new deal. But, like we do for any scenario where customer service could be interrupted, we need to plan for the possibility of a UAW strike. Our customers and dealers are counting on us to ship parts so we can keep Ford vehicles on the road,” a Ford manager said according to the Detroit Free Press.
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Documents obtained from the Detroit Free Press revealed that the automaker had asked salaried workers to complete online surveys to rank their top three preferred sites in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
A Ford official told employees that roles would include, “stock keeper, order picker or shipping and receiving. Some of these roles would involve either walking or driving a power material handling vehicle or driving a forklift. Anyone who must travel outside of their home city will have all travel and living expenses provided and allowed to travel home on the weekends.”
Beyond complications with an impending strike, Ford Motor Company is also involved in an ongoing legal case which would determine the future of its proposed Ford BlueOval Battery Plant. After preliminary hearings, the 37th Circuit Court in Calhoun County is expecting a ruling from Judge William Marietti by the end of August which would determine the project’s future.
“The good news is that if we prevail in that ruling, then the rezoning ordinance is paused and basically put on hold,” said Glenn Kowalske, a Marshall resident opposed to the plant, in an interview with Michigan News Source. “It can’t move forward which means Ford can’t move forward, which means the state of Michigan can’t force it to move forward.”
A number of U.S. Senators have voiced their support for the UAW and written to the big three automakers to bring Electric Vehicle (EV) workers into the UAW contract.
“Profits should translate to gains for workers. It is unacceptable that in the midst of extreme financial gains for the companies, executives, and investors, the workers making the electric vehicle batteries that will enable a transition to clean energy vehicles are making poverty-level wages,” a letter from 28 U.S. Senators read, “Before the expiration of UAW’s contract, we urge you to announce that all electric vehicle workers at these joint ventures will be folded into the national UAW contract.”
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Recently, the UAW President Shawn Fain said on social media that September 14 is not a reference point, but rather a deadline.
“These negotiations will set the future of the auto industry for decades to come, so we have to get it right. This is when real friends show up,” he said previously.
The UAW contract expires on Sept. 14, and it covers 150,000 autoworkers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis according to the UAW.
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