While contract negotiations between Ford and the United Auto Workers (UAW) are always a newsmaker, the most recent installment of those talks – which took place last fall – were a bit more contentious and drama-filled than usual. Much of this stemmed from newly-appointed UAW President Shawn Fain, who vowed from the start to take the union’s fight directly to the Detroit Big Three automakers, and true to form, wound up initiating a six-week-long strike that ended when the sides reached a new agreement in late October. Since then, the UAW has set its sights on organizing non-unionized automaker facilities in the U.S., and now, Fain has been recognized as the 2024 MotorTrend Person of the Year – an award that Ford CEO Jim Farley won back in 2022.
MotorTrend cites Fain’s unique approach to hammering out a new deal with the Detroit Big Three as the chief reason behind this particular honor. “Fain threw out past traditions and unwritten rules for bargaining, starting with forgoing the age-old handshake ceremonies with auto executives to kick off negotiations,” the rag noted. “Instead of picking a lead company to set terms the others would follow, he bargained with all three companies simultaneously for the first time in history, pitting them against each other.”
“A mere nine months after his narrow election as union chief, Fain’s tactics and hard stance impacted a nation and set a new tone for the labor movement that emboldened workers in multiple industries around the world,” MotorTrend added. “The passionate labor leader who does not think billionaires should exist says this is just the beginning of a mission to elevate the working class.”
In this year’s rankings, Ford wasn’t excluded, however, as it had a handful of executives make the cut – a list that includes Ford Pro CEO Ted Cannis, Chief Advanced Product Development and Technology Officer Doug Field, CEO Jim Farley, and COO Kumar Galhotra.
We’ll have more on the UAW soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for the latest Ford-UAW news, UAW news, and 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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Never liked Motor Trend. Like them even less now.
mOTORtREND is now a joke and should no longer be taken seriously.