Ford faced its fair share of labor-related issues last year in the form of the six-week long targeted strike from the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, which ended with a new deal, albeit one that required additional work after it was rejected by workers at the Kentucky Truck plant. Since then, more than one Ford supplier has also voted to join the UAW, and one of those companies is now facing an uphill battle forging a new contract with the union as well.
That Ford supplier is Dakkota Integrated Systems, according to WDRB, where UAW workers are prepared to go on strike after rejecting the company’s latest offer. The company operates four facilities near the Ford Kentucky Truck plant and “sequences” parts for that plant, a process that involves organizing and delivering components so that Blue Oval workers can install them quickly.
Around 100 UAW employees at Dakkota rejected that company’s “last, best and final” contract offer this month, and previously authorized a strike, though negotiations remain ongoing. “We’re back at the table,” said UAW Local 3058 President Tom Williams, who didn’t provide any additional details about those talks, nor how close the two sides might be to reaching a new agreement. It’s also unclear how a strike may impact the Kentucky plant, which builds the Ford Super Duty, Ford Expedition, and Lincoln Navigator.
In the meantime, workers at another Ford supplier – Webasto – just ratified their first UAW contract, while those at Antolin Interiors USA also recently voted to join the union, joining a host of others that are already unionized. Ford Focus production at the Saarlouis Assembly plant recently resumed after German union IG Metall called for the employees of five nearby suppliers – Magna, Benteler, Tenneco, Rhenus LMS, and Lear Corp – to walk out of their facilities, though it’s slated to end late next year as that model will soon be discontinued.
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