Last year, a group of residents in rural West Tennessee near the under-construction Ford EV plant known as BlueOval City formed the BlueOval Good Neighbors Coalition, which wants FoMoCo to sign a legally binding community benefits agreement as it aims to ensure that the future plant hires locals and also prevents gentrification from occurring. That group issued a list of demands to the automaker in late November, after which Ford announced that it would be adding a YMCA Early Learning Center to its site to help with childcare. Ford recently created what it calls the Good Neighbor Plan to further aid the local community in response to this request, but it seems as if those efforts aren’t quite enough for the group.
Rather, according to Commercial Appeal, BlueOval Good Neighbors plans to continue to push for Ford to sign its legally binding community benefits agreement, which it says will hold the automaker accountable – even though it’s admittedly “pleased” by the company’s Good Neighbor Plan and its investments in the area. Ford wasn’t available for comment on the matter, but previously stated that its Good Neighbor Plan will function essentially the same way as the community benefits agreement.
“While Ford will make billions of dollars from BlueOval City, the predominantly Black communities of the region will face detrimental impacts through skyrocketing housing costs, strains on infrastructure, and long-term impacts on the environment without concrete and binding commitments,” BlueOval Good Neighbors said in a statement. “The people who have lived here for generations will face – and already are facing – life-changing consequences.”
BlueOval Good Neighbors previously issued a list of demands that include asking the automaker to provide workers at the future Ford EV plant with livable wages, create funds to assist residents with rising costs of living, monitor the site’s environmental impact, and provide the BlueOval Good Neighbors Community Board with the power to enforce these provisions.
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Not to worry BOC will never come close to the capacity that was envisioned for it.