Category Archives: manufacturing

Ford Thoughts on the UAW Strike at Kentucky Truck Plant

Ford Motor executives tonight presented their version of the latest developments in the 2023 UAW contract negotiations with a notable and commendable change in tone from the initial Ford response last night. Continue reading

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No Surprise as UAW Strikes at Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant

Local 862 members at Kentucky Truck make Ford Super Duty pickups as well as the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator SUVs. President Fain will host a Facebook Live at 10 am on, yes, Friday the 13th of October to provide bargaining updates and take further action if needed. Continue reading

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BMW i Ventures Invests in Formant Robotics Data Platform

“Autonomous robotic systems have broken free from R&D departments and are now being deployed at scale to drive business outcomes and resilient operations,” said Kasper Sage, Managing Partner at BMW i Ventures. “Their proliferation across mission-critical functions as well as support tasks for humans in various industries underscores the urgent need for seamless data management and orchestration across robotic endpoints. Formant is the operating system underpinning the future of the automated enterprise.” Continue reading

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Stellantis, Samsung SDI Pick Kokomo for Second Gigafactory

Stellantis has announced plans of reaching a 100% passenger car battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales mix in Europe and 50% passenger car and light-duty truck BEV sales mix in the United States by 2030. To achieve these ambitious sales targets, the Stellantis said it is securing ~ 400 GWh of battery capacity, at what are planned to be non-union facilities. Stellantis, which was created by a mega-merger of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) Renault and Peugeot, thus far is taking a ‘let them eat cake’ position with the unions. This is a high risk strategy, because the unions are sticking to their knitting, so to speak. Sean Fain, the head of the UAW has roots in Kokomo Continue reading

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An Awakened GM Agrees to Unifor Pattern Agreement

Unifor working for its Canadian members and General Motors have reached a tentative agreement following today’s strike action at Oshawa Assembly Plant, St. Catharines Powertrain Plant and Woodstock Parts Distribution Center. GM management apparently came to its senses and abandoned a ‘let them eat cake approach’ ~12 hours after refusing to accept the Unifor pattern contract that was agreed to at Ford Motor. The new tentative agreement follows the Ford contract “to the letter” covering ~ 4300 autoworkers at Unifor locals 222, 199 and 636. Strike actions are on hold to allow the membership to vote on the tentative agreement, approval of which is likely because this agreementsignificantly lifts everybody up. Continue reading

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Oh Canada! – GM Rejects Pattern Agreement – Unifor Strikes

“This strike is about General Motors stubbornly refusing to meet the pattern agreement. The company knows our members will never let GM break our pattern – not today – not ever,” said Unifor National President Lana Payne. “The company continues to fall short on our pension demands, income supports for retired workers, and meaningful steps to transition temporary workers into permanent, full-time jobs.” Continue reading

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UAW Now on Strike at Mack Trucks in Three States

Mack Trucks and the UAW reached a tentative agreement minutes before the initial deadline on 1 October. UAW leadership recommended that members approve the deal. On Sunday 8 October Mack Trucks’ UAW members rejected the contract. UAW leadership then issued a strike notice to the company, citing “many topics [that] remain at issue, including wage increases, cost of living allowances (COLA), job security, wage progression, skilled trades, shift premium, holiday schedules, work schedules, health and safety, seniority, pension, 401(k), healthcare and prescription drug coverage, and overtime.” Continue reading

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GM Employees in India Start Hunger Strike

The GM employee’s union in India started “an indefinite relay hunger strike” on 2 October, demanding that the workforce of General Motors’ Talegaon plant be absorbed by Hyundai Motors India as the plant is sold. General Motors Employees Union in … Continue reading

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What Strike? September US Vehicle Market Grows Sharply

US light vehicle (LV) sales grew by 19.7% year-on-year (YoY) in September, to 1.34 million units, according to the latest analysis by the respected GlobalData consultancy. The UAW Big Three Strike that began halfway through September has thus far had little apparent effect. However, YoY comparisons are supercharged because of a low base of weak September 2022 sales. Ironically, Labor Day sales appears to bolstered sales. Continue reading

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Ford Motor 2023 Q3 Sales up 8%

“We saw strong balanced sales growth providing choice to our customers in the third quarter, with growth coming from our gas engine, electric, hybrid and commercial van lineup,” said Andrew Frick, vice president, sales, distribution and trucks. “Ford’s truck lineup remains the industry’s top seller.” Continue reading

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NHTSA Expands Ford Engine Failure Probe to 700,000 Vehicles

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Defects Investigation released today documents that shows it has expanded a preliminary Ford engine failure inquiry to an engineering analysis that covers more than 700,000 vehicles and questions Ford’s previous attempts to fix the safety defect. Explorer, Bronco, Edge Lincoln Nautilus, Aviator SUVs, as well as The F-150 pickup truck from 2021-2022 model years are susceptible to sudden loss of engine power. Continue reading

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UAW Strike Expands as Ford and GM Execs Squawk

“To be clear, negotiations have not broken down. We are still talking with all three companies. I am still very hopeful that we can reach a deal that reflects the incredible sacrifices and contributions our members have made over the last decade. But I also know that what we win at the bargaining table depends on the power we build on the job. It’s time to use that power. That is why I’m calling on an additional 7000 members across Ford and GM to go on strike starting at noon Eastern today,” said Shawn Fain. Continue reading

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President Biden on UAW Picket Line Backs Wage Bids

The crowd was extremely vocal in its support, even though the UAW estimates that one-third of its members voted for a wealthy east-coast elite candidate who became one-term President Trump after, among other things, he put in place anti-labor policies and destroyed the economy breaking his campaign promises. While the UAW hasn’t endorsed Biden thus far, the 2024 Presidential candidate the union emphatically said it won’t endorse is the 91-count indicted, twice-impeached ex-president. Continue reading

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Unifor Selects GM as Next Negotiation Target

“We’ve got an incredibly strong pattern agreement at Ford that will serve us well over the coming years. Our job now is to negotiate that pattern in the form of a renewal collective agreement with General Motors and Stellantis,” said Payne. “General Motors will be our next target company. Starting tomorrow Unifor will be at the table with GM.” Continue reading

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Power Loss Recall – Genesis G80, GV80, GV70 SUVs

“The low-pressure fuel pump assemblies in the recalled vehicles may contain impellers that do not meet current material characteristic specifications, potentially leading to deformation. Deformation of the impeller could cause the impeller to interfere with the fuel pump housing, resulting in a mechanical resistance that could lead to a shutdown of the fuel pump,” Hyundai said. Hyundam Industrial Co. in Korea is the maker of the defective fuel pump module. Continue reading

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