Ford, UAW avoid strike at Kansas City plant

The threat of a possible United Auto Workers strike at a critical Ford Motor Co. pickup-truck plant intensified Thursday after a Sunday overtime shift was canceled and local leaders advised members to check with the strike committee for their assignments.

Ford officials say in a statement Saturday morning that the agreement was forged by working with its UAW partners at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri.

To stay a step ahead of potential production disruptions, Ford is ramping up production at the Dearborn Truck plant, the second plant responsible for F-150 production, and ordering workers there to put in mandatory overtime to keep the production pipeline filled for the popular fullsize truck.

Hillyard said details about the tentative agreement would be released in the near future. Ford last month achieved near-normal inventory levels of its F-150 for the first time since a lengthy shutdown as it transitioned to the new model with an aluminum body. “We would still have to supply the other two plants, but I’m not sure how that would affect our operation”.

“I think we have reached an agreement that our members will be proud of”, Hillyard wrote. Local agreements typically do not have anything to do with salary or pay.

The union gave Ford a required five-day strike notice on Tuesday after failing to reach a local labor deal.

Todd Hillyard, bargaining chairman at UAW Local 249 which represents workers at the Kansas City plant, said he has been talking with his counterparts at Dearborn Assembly.

Hillyard said the two sides were at an impasse over issues regarding safety, seniority and manpower at the 4-million-square-foot plant.

FCA workers this week soundly rejected their proposed national contract, but it is unclear whether the union will return to the bargaining table with that company or shift to Ford or General Motors.

“Thankfully, with this evening’s announcement, that action has been averted”, UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles said in a message to workers posted on Facebook.