UAW Members Walk Out At Ford Kentucky Truck Plant In Louisville

(RTTNews) - The United Auto Workers union said Wednesday that its 8,700 members walked off the job today at 6:30 p.m. ET, shutting down Ford Motor Company's iconic and extremely profitable Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville.

"The strike was called after Ford refused to make further movement in bargaining," the union said in statement.

The move comes one day before the four-week mark since contracts expired at Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis.

Meanwhile, Ford said that the decision by the UAW to call a strike at the company'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 said it made an outstanding offer that would make a meaningful positive difference in the quality of life for 57,000 UAW-represented workers, who are already among the best compensated hourly manufacturing workers anywhere in the world. Ford has been bargaining in good faith this week on joint venture battery plants, which are slated to begin production in the coming years.

Ford warned that the UAW leadership's decision to reject the record contract offer - which the UAW has publicly described as the best offer on the table - and strike Kentucky Truck Plant, carries serious consequences for the company's workforce, suppliers, dealers and commercial customers.