OHIO – In 2019 Ford announced a 900 million dollar project that would go directly to the Avon Lake plant, but now has pulled back on that promise and will send it to Mexico.
The agreement would reinvest in the facility bringing it into the 21st century with a “complete revitalization” of the facility.
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown called out the company today saying that they needed to honor their agreement.
UAW said in a press release:
“At the start of the 2019 UAW-Ford negotiations, the union bargaining team determined that its main goal was to increase job security for this great membership. For months, the Company and the union held extensive, arduous discussions on this subject and we focused on maintaining a strong manufacturing presence in the United States.
“Thanks to the determination of the bargaining committee, your strong dedicated leadership of Local 2000, and your solidarity we were able to gain commitments in 2019 for the future of OHAP. The company committed $900 million for your facility. Some of that committed investment was for a next-generation product to be added in 2023. Best of all, the agreement outlined an exciting vision for the complete revitalization of the OHAP facility that would secure OHAP employment well into the foreseeable future. These contractual commitments were an enormous win for the UAW, for the great state of Ohio, the community of Avon Lake, and most importantly the members of Local 2000.
“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. Ford management expects us to just hang our heads and accept the decision. But let me be clear, we are making a different choice. We 100% reject the company’s decision to put corporate greed and more potential profits over American jobs and the future of our members. 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 and I will keep the members of Local 2000 informed of our next steps. Even though the situation is rapidly evolving, I feel it is of extreme importance to continuously communicate vital updates associated with this situation
