The United Automobile Workers union unexpectedly expanded its strike against Ford Motor on Wednesday evening, calling on 8,700 workers to walk off the job at a critical plant in Kentucky.
The plant makes some of Ford’s most profitable offerings, including the Super Duty version of its F-Series trucks and the Ford Expedition, a full-size sport utility vehicle.
The union and the company had appeared to make progress toward a new contract in recent weeks. But at an afternoon bargaining session, U.A.W. negotiators sought a sweetened offer from the company and Ford declined.
The union’s president, Shawn Fain, who attended the meeting, then informed Ford that he was calling for an immediate strike at the Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville, according to both union and company officials.
The U.A.W. is staging an escalating strike campaign against selected Ford, General Motors and Stellantis plants to press the terms it is demanding in contracts replacing those that expired last month.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.