Ford demands secrecy as it preps salaried workers for blue-collar jobs if UAW strikes – By Phoebe Wall Howard (Detroit Free Press) / Aug 17, 2023
Ford Motor Company is preparing white-collar workers to do blue-collar jobs in case of a UAW strike, according to internal company materials reviewed by the Free Press.
Over the past month, Ford has held meetings with salaried workers, including engineers, to explain that the company wants to protect the flow of parts to car dealers in support of customers. This means Ford is planning to take actions that include sending white-collar workers into parts warehouses to run forklifts, according to meeting attendees.
If operations are disrupted and factory production is shut down, Ford is planning to deploy salaried workers to 20 sites in 15 states with Ford parts depots.
The automaker asked salaried workers to complete online surveys to rank their top three preferred sites in California, Oregon, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin, based on an audio recording made by a person attending one of the meetings and additional documentation obtained by the Free Press.
