Workers at Ford plant in Kentucky split over UAW deal

Productions workers at Ford-based plants in Kentucky have voted against the United Auto Workers’s (UAW) tentative agreement with the Big Three automakers.

In a Facebook post Sunday, UAW Local 862 shared that production workers who are chapter members voted down on the tentative agreement by a margin of 55 percent to 45 percent. 

In contrast, skilled trade workers who are members of the local chapter voted in favor of the proposed deal by a margin of 69 percent to 31 percent. 

Members of UAW Local 862 work at the Louisville Assembly Plant and the Kentucky Truck Plant, all owned by Ford Motor Co., according to ABC News. The two plants employ more than 13,000 people, with 12,000 of them belonging to the union.

The decision comes days after the UAW, led by President Shawn Fain, reached tentative agreements with automakers including Ford, Jeep-maker Stellantis and General Motors, ending the union’s six-week strike against the major automakers.

UAW’s strike against the Big Three, the longest auto strike in 25 years, saw the auto union demand for cost-of-living pay raises, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay, union representation at new battery plants, pension increases for retirees and more.

The tentative agreements with each automaker also include 25 percent wage increases over the course of a four-year contract, among other benefits

Fain is slated to make an appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, where he’ll be one of several speakers at a hearing on union benefits for families, held by the Democratic-led Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The Hill has reached out to Ford and UAW Local 862 for comment and more information.