• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • Fabled Mercedes Sports Car Sells for Record $146M
  • Ford Recalling 39K Full-Size SUVs Due to Potential Fire Issue
  • Mercedes-Benz Abandons Its Entry-Level Ambitions
  • Push is on to Make Stealing a Catalytic Converter a Federal Crime
  • Toyota Marks 25th Anniversary of Sienna Minivan
  • Honda Offers Early Look at Prologue EV
  • Argo AI Shifts to Driverless Operations in Two Markets
  • Hyundai, Kia, Honda, Jeep and Nissan Fare Badly in Latest Crash Tests
  • Finally! Lexus RX to Get a Complete Makeover
  • Inflation Affecting Summer Vacation Plans
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2022 Kia Forte GT
    • First Drive: 2023 Genesis GV60
    • First Drive: 2022 Mercedes-Benz C 300
    • First Impression: 2023 Nissan Z
    • A Week With: 2022 Lexus LC 500 Convertible
    • A Week With: 2022 Ram 2500 Power Wagon Crew Cab
    • First Drive: 2022 Ford F-150 Lightning
    • First Drive(s): 2022 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali Ultimate and AT4X
    • A Week With: 2022 BMW i4 M50
    • A Week With: 2022 Mazda CX-5
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automakers > UAW Accusing Ford of Reneging on Ohio Plant Commitments

        UAW Accusing Ford of Reneging on Ohio Plant Commitments

        Automaker says its committed to assembly plant.

        Joseph Szczesny
        Joseph Szczesny , Executive Editor
        March 17, 2021
        The UAW accused Ford of backing out of a commitment to add a new vehicle line at the Ohio Assembly Plant.

        The United Auto Workers and Ford Motor Co. appear headed for a showdown over an old issue — moving jobs from the United States to Mexico.

        In a letter to 1,500 UAW members employed at Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, a top union official said Ford reneged on a commitment made during the 2019 contract negotiations to spend $900 million to prep the plant for production of a new vehicle.

        “Unfortunately, Ford Motor Company has decided it will not honor its promise to add a new product to OHAP and, instead, it intends to build the next-generation vehicle in Mexico,” UAW Vice President Gerald Kariem stated in the letter, which was obtained by TheDetroitBureau.com.

        Kariem, the head of UAW’s Ford Department, noted in the letter that the $900 million commitment was at the heart of the labor pact the union signed with Ford in November 2019, promising more job security for Ford workers.

        Ford offers no plan for plant’s future

        Ford moved production of its F-650 and F-750 from Mexico to Ohio in 2015, spending nearly $200 million on the plant for the trucks.

        Ford is no longer planning to bring a new line to their Ohio Assembly Plant, or OHAP, instead moving that production to Mexico, Kariem wrote.

        In his letter, Kariem said, “We expect the company to honor its contractual commitments to this membership and when it fails to do so we will take action. We have submitted data requests to the company asking them to explain the basis for the decision, but they continue to only provide us with strategically limited information. We are intensely exploring our options at this time.”

        Ford says it still committed to Ohio

        Jason Moore, Ohio assembly plant manager and the only Ford executive to address the issue, said in a statement, “By now, you have may have heard discussion about the future of Ohio Assembly Plant. As part of the 2019 UAW Ford CBA, the UAW’s highlights document included reference to a $900 million investment and a new product for OHAP.

        “While conditions upon which the 2019 Administrative Letter were based have changed, the Company is investing in the plant and increasing production of Super Duty trucks at OHAP. That is a key development as the F-series is America’s No. 1 selling truck and customer demand is strong.”

        2022 E-Series
        In addition to building the F-650 and F-750, the Ohio Assembly Plant also produces the E-Series cutaway.

        The comments from Ford do not extend beyond the current contract, which expires in 2023, setting up a situation that is a reprise of General Motors’ decision in the summer of 2018 to award a new product to a plant in Mexico as employment at GM’s assembly plant in Lordstown, Ohio was reduced. GM announced it was closing the Lordstown plant permanently a few months later.

        Lordstown closing haunts union

        The Lordstown plant closed for good in the spring of 2019 and the factory is now in the hands EV startup, Lordstown Motors. GM also building a new battery plant nearby. UAW workers were not offered jobs at either facility. Nonetheless, the shutdown of Lordstown created a huge controversy.

        Ford Motor Co. has tried to duck the controversy about jobs, scrapping plans for building a new plant in Mexicoduring the early days of the Trump administration. Only this week, the company noted that it has added more than 100 jobs in Avon Lake and now employs more workers in the United States than any other automaker, including GM.

        Nonetheless the controversy around Lordstown continues to echo inside the UAW, where the union’s leadership has been badly tarnished by a corruption scandal that has left two the union’s past presidents, Dennis Williams and Gary Jones, facing prison.

        The scandal also has undermined the union’s current leadership, which is now facing a referendum on whether UAW members could decide whether to clear the way for the direct election of top officers for the first time.

        Dissatisfaction with actions by union leadership, such as the deal signed with Ford in 2019, along with the corruption scandal, adds to the discontent in the union ranks. There has not been a strike against Ford since 1976 and union leaders, including UAW president Rory Gamble, tout the union’s close relations with the company.

        Ford opened the assembly plant in Avon Lake in 1974 and it currently builds the Ford E-Series and the Ford F-650 and F-750.

        Recently Published
        Mercedes Rudolph Uhlenhaut with coupe

        Fabled Mercedes Sports Car Sells for Record $146M

        Today
        2021 Ford Expedition STX front

        Ford Recalling 39K Full-Size SUVs Due to Potential Fire Issue

        Yesterday
        Mercedes Drive Pilot steering wheel controls

        Mercedes-Benz Abandons Its Entry-Level Ambitions

        Yesterday

        3 responses to “UAW Accusing Ford of Reneging on Ohio Plant Commitments”

        1. TR says:
          March 18, 2021 at 11:06 am

          Missing Trump are you!! Don’t worry, brainless Joe will take care of you!!

          Reply
          1. Paul A. Eisenstein says:
            March 18, 2021 at 3:52 pm

            LMAO…and I bet you think Don won the election. Brainless? Hardly. There’s a reason BOTH the union and the automakers were backing Biden.

            Reply
          2. Laura Hubka says:
            March 27, 2021 at 8:45 am

            The plant closed under Trump. Ford doesn’t care about people. Just money

            Reply

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2022
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: