CNN –
The pivotal point in negotiations between the United Auto Workers and Ford came on Oct. 11, when the union went on strike at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, according to a source familiar with the situation. According to the UAW, Ford was terminated.
On Wednesday, the UAW and Ford reached a tentative agreement after a 41-day strike.
The union’s attack on Ford’s largest and most profitable plant led to rapid moves at the negotiating table, with both sides trying to reach an agreement.
Ford also saw what happened to General Motors on Tuesday, just hours after the company reported its third-quarter results and posted a profit despite the strike. The UAW unexpectedly launched a targeted strike against GM’s largest plant, Arlington Assembly, Texas. Ford was scheduled to report earnings on Thursday.
There was clear agreement that no agreement would be reached between the UAW and Ford Then the company’s Rouge Manufacturing Complex in Michigan, which employs thousands of hourly workers, will likely be targeted next, the source added.
At the Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, Bill Ford, Ford’s chairman and fourth-generation controlling family member, spoke about negotiations for the first time last week. Ford called on the UAW to “stop this immediately” and end the talks, adding that the company’s financial ability to invest in the future is “the lifeblood of the company.”
Without them, factories like the Rouge plant would close, Bill Ford said.
This speech alarmed UAW President Shawn Fain, who responded with a threat.
“Bill Ford knows exactly how to resolve this strike. Instead of threatening to close Rouge, he should call [Ford President] “Jim Farley, tell him to stop playing games and make a deal or we’ll close the Rouge for him,” he said.
Last Tuesday, a marathon negotiation began that lasted late into the night Wednesday.
An agreement in principle was reached at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. The agreement simply needed to be signed by UAW leadership and lawyers from both sides — particularly Fain, a second source with knowledge of the matter said.
The tone throughout the day was that either a deal would be negotiated within six hours or Rouge could be negotiated, the first source said.
A UAW labor lawyer, Benjamin Dictor, posted several photos on X, formerly known as Twitter, that painted a picture of the final 24 hours of negotiations.
On Tuesday at 7:15 p.m. he I posted a photo in front of Ford headquarters with the caption “A Beautiful Evening in Dearborn.” The following Wednesday afternoon, he posted “Hard at work.”
Just hours later, Dictor posted a photo of him posing with UAW President Shawn Fain with the caption: “It is a privilege to have had the opportunity to speak with the members of the UAW Ford Division in their negotiations for “To work together on this historic agreement.” It will soon be in the hands of the members.”
The deal was done.
Shawn Fain made the announcement in a pre-recorded video Wednesday evening alongside UAW Vice President and key negotiator Chuck Browning. just before 8:30 p.m. ET.
“Ford knew what was coming on Wednesday if we didn’t get a deal. That was checkmate. On the 40th day of the stand-up strike, we reached a historic agreement,” Fain said in the video posted on X.
Jim Farley, Ford’s president and CEO, followed with a statement saying Ford was “pleased to have reached a tentative agreement on a new labor agreement with the UAW for our U.S. operations.”
Two sources confirmed that no Ford UAW members were on the picket lines as of midnight Wednesday. It’s an unusual move to remove workers from the picket line before a deal is voted on and ratified by the rank and file. But in this case it’s about strategy.
“We will go back to work at Ford to keep the pressure on Stellantis and GM. The last thing they want is for Ford to go back to full capacity while they fool around and lag behind,” Browning said in the video announcement Wednesday night.
The UAW is still negotiating with GM and Stellantis.
Closing the deal with Ford was a major hurdle, according to a third source with knowledge of the matter. The next big hurdle will be getting 57,000 UAW members to ratify the tentative agreement, which may not happen until Thanksgiving. However, there is relief that there is an agreement, the third source said.
Even though UAW members are no longer on the picket lines at Ford, it will take some time to get everyone back to work. It could take four or more weeks to get the company up and running again.
However, at the Kentucky Truck Plant, the company is already asking people to voluntarily return to work this week to get the plant back up and running, according to Todd Dunn, president of UAW Local 862, which represents workers at Kentucky Truck.
The company is also asking weekend shift workers to arrive starting tomorrow, with a plan to have the plant running at full capacity starting Monday, Dunn said.
Still, there is significant animosity between Ford and the UAW that needs to be addressed, this third source added.
Taylor Glascock/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Members and supporters of the United Auto Workers (UAW) on a strike line in front of the Ford Motor Co. Chicago assembly plant in Chicago, Illinois, USA, on Saturday, September 30, 2023. The United Auto Workers expanded their strike against General Motors Co . and Ford Motor Co. to more assembly plants, but the union spared Jeep maker Stellantis NV from further strikes after a last-minute breakthrough.
In one of Fain’s signature Facebook Live videos, the UAW president, early in negotiations, called one of Ford’s offers “disgusting” while pointing to a trash can he supposedly belonged to. In the first few weeks, Farley expressed his emotions several times in conversations with the media about the status of the negotiations. The Ford boss said the deal sought by the UAW would force the company into bankruptcy.
Ford reported earnings on Thursday, booking a profit less than a day after the tentative agreement was reached. This is despite the strike and its costs – losses of $100 million in the third quarter.
Ford CFO John Lawler warned in the company’s earnings release that there was still “significant uncertainty” from the strike, including how smoothly the plant restart would go and how quickly the company’s suppliers could come back online. to rebuild Ford vehicles.
CNN’s Chris Isidore contributed to this report.