Sharonville, OHIO — The reverberations of the ongoing strike by union workers against major automakers are being felt at the Ford transmission plant in Sharonville. United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 863 reported that over 300 workers at this facility have been on strike since Monday. This comes in the wake of more than 8,000 workers initiating a strike last week at Ford's Kentucky truck plant in Louisville, marking one of the largest strikes in the company's history.
The Ford plant in Sharonville, a key supplier for the corporation, has been directly affected by the strike. Since the strike began over a month ago, over 25,000 workers across 20 states have joined the labor action against the big three automakers.
Local 863 President Tod Turner stated that once the decision was made to strike in Louisville, layoffs at the Sharonville plant were anticipated. When asked about the timeline for resolution, Turner remarked, "We don't know, we don't have any idea...that all remains to be seen."
Turner emphasized that workers have made significant sacrifices to support Ford and have been waiting since 2008 for their contributions to be acknowledged. He highlighted, "We gave up cost of living, we gave up wages, there were holidays that we gave up we are just now starting to ask for this stuff back. What we thought was temporary help for the company turned into a permanent one."
Bill Ford, Executive Chairman of Ford, expressed his perspective, saying, "The UAW leaders have called us the enemy in these negotiations, but I will never consider our employees as enemies."
Union officials have arranged a meeting for Tuesday morning at the union headquarters to discuss layoff compensation for the affected workers.