UAW strike extends to major truck plant

Another 8,700 United Auto Worker union members—who build some of the most popular light-duty work trucks in the U.S.—went on strike this week, joining thousands more who walked out on U.S. jobs at the Big Three automakers and Mack Trucks.

The latest to join the Stand Up Strike against the Big Three are members of UAW Local 862 at Ford's biggest plant in Louisville, Kentucky, where the F-Series Super Duty trucks are built. That walkout brings the total on strike against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis to about 33,700 union members. 

Another 3,900 UAW members went on strike Oct. 9 at Mack facilities in three states. Mack had proposed a five-year collective bargaining agreement that members voted down earlier in the week.

On the decision to strike at the Ford truck plant, UAW president Shawn Fain said Wednesday's offer from the OEM was "the exact same offer" given two weeks ago, with a concern that Ford is "not taking us seriously."

The strike against the Big Three has grown over the past month with another threat to Stellantis made just hours after the Ford strike in Lousiville. Fain, in an X post, set the standard for talks with Stellantis to be "more productive than Ford" on Wednesday.

Ford released a statement in response to Wednesday's walkout, saying in part:

"The decision by the UAW to call a strike at Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant is grossly irresponsible but unsurprising given the union leadership's stated strategy of keeping the Detroit 3 wounded for months through 'reputational damage' and 'industrial chaos.'"

Ford went on to say its offer would've made progress in the lives of its 57,000 UAW workers at the Kentucky plant, which produces the F-Series Super Duty, the Ford Expedition, and the Lincoln Navigator, generating $25 billion a year in revenue. 

See also: Three strikes and they're out: UAW strikes hit Big Three at three plants

The UAW's demands include substantial pay raises, ending the two-tiered pay structure, and restoration of certain benefits. UAW President Shawn Fain had pushed for 40% pay increases over four years and a four-day, 32-hour work week.

Earlier in the week, Mack workers at facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Florida rejected an offer that included a 10% general wage increase in year one for all employees; a compounded 20% increase to general wages over five years, and a guarantee of no increases in health insurance premiums through the term of the contract.

Fain is scheduled to host a Facebook Live at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 13. You can see it here.