United Auto Workers at the Kansas City, Missouri plant that produces Ford F-150s may strike as early as Sunday if the automaker doesn’t “negotiate in good faith,” according to Jimmy Settles, UAW vice president:
The challenges we face may not be easy, and I certainly cannot predict the future, but I would rather die fighting than to do an injustice to this membership or our institution.
Settles wrote to union members that issues such as “manpower provisions, the national heat stress program, and skilled trades scheduling amongst others” prompted the threatened strike at the Kansas City plant.
The threatened strike comes as Fiat Chrysler Automobiles workers reject their proposed contract that would have increased hourly pay rates for both tiered levels — but wouldn’t eliminate the system altogether.
Settles wrote in his letter to union employees that the FCA deal would have little impact on the eventual deal the union may reach with Ford.
I ask that you please do not read too much into the details of the FCA tentative agreement. Many aspects of FCA’s current agreement are different than the agreement we currently have with Ford, such as attendance policy, work schedules, vacation language, discipline, job security, apprenticeship testing, and progression of entry-level to legacy pay rates to name a few.
A spokeswoman from Ford said the company would avoid a strike.
“We work every day to avoid a disruption of our production, and we are confident we will be able to negotiate a fair and competitive labor agreement with our UAW partners,” the automaker said in a statement.
Ford also makes the F-150 at its Dearborn, Michigan facility.
Who ordered red and silver? Yuck.
An Ohio State fan?
Ha, that’s the way wrong shade of red for that.
Different strokes. The Race Red used on ’11 and later pickups isn’t as nice IMO as the Bright Red used since 1997, but it’s still okay. The silver “two-tone” is a $250 option.
Blue Jeans is still the best color. Any love here for the ’09-only Amber Gold Metallic?
That red pictured looks very orange to me, but maybe that’s my screen coloring.
When I saw this pic, I went on Ford.com to try and build a truck and put two-tone on it, and I couldn’t find that option in the builder. The F150 has so many dang options it is very confusing to create one.
I’m partial to dark red metallic over a light gold myself. Or pearl white over silver. Or, on the current one, dark green over tan.
No no, that’s right, Race Red has a little bit of orange to it.
Ford recently redid their Build and Price tool (I almost called it a game), so now it’s ostensibly easier to choose exactly what you want, but it’s harder for me because I’m used to the old one.
Two-tone is a $250 option only on XLT and Lariat, and is not available with the Sport Package.
The XLT two-tone covers only the bottom panel, and used to be Silver, but is now Magnetic (dark gray) on the ’15s. It’s available with every color except Magnetic (obviously), Guard, Bronze Fire, and Caribou.
The Lariat two-tone covers the bottom of the fenders as well and used to be Pale Adobe (tan), but is now Caribou (dark tan). It’s available with every color except Caribou, Magnetic, Ingot Silver, and Race Red and Blue Flame (which are both only available with the Sport Package).
Two-tone is standard on King Ranch and actually requires the Monochrome package to remove.
All of your color options sound good.
Goodness someone likes playing house with the F150 creator! I think if I were truck shopping for one I’d end up ordering, because I know no dealer is going to stock what I want. The look I want is too 2002.
If I were to buy a new F-150, it’d have to be special order. Not that what I want is unavailable from the factory, but no dealer would stock it.
http://imgur.com/a/jhkBG
The two tone is only available on certain trims and packages. Either Magnetic gray (XLT) or Caribou (Lariat, King Ranch). Not all colors are available in two tone either.
DrZ beat me to it though.
Give me Bronze Fire or Ruby Red with Caribou in two tone on a King Ranch!!!!!
I like it better on the Expedition, but it’s fine on the F150 too.
I just discovered the new Build and Price has a “save transparent image” tool. Here ya go! One’s a short bed, one’s a long bed, didn’t click any other options except 4×4 and color.
http://imgur.com/a/6OlmX
Nice.
On the Amber Gold paint, to quote Jeremy Clarkson:
“Oh God! The car has literally had diarrhea!”
The red and grey looks nicer to me, but not much. Dodge/RAM has the best two tone schemes in my mind.
(raises hand)
I like Aztec Gold. But my taste is suspect, evidenced by the fact that there is a Ginger Ale Fusion in my driveway.
*Furious Googling* Oh, that’s what that color is called. I’ve mostly seen it on Escapes and the odd Explorer or two. I like it. If nothing else, it’s better than white.
For the last 20 years, Ford has offered one color on the F-150 that, while it may be used on other vehicles, is only used on the F-150 for the first model year of a generation. In 2009, it was Amber Gold (aka Pimp Mustard, also available on the Focus). In 2004, it was Blazing Yellow. In 1997, it was Light Denim (aka Limp-Wristed Periwinkle, also available on the Contour, Taurus, Escort, T-Bird, Crown Vic, Expedition, Ranger, and Explorer). Nothing says mid-late ’90s like Light Denim Fords. I wonder what color is available this year that won’t be for ’16. I’m betting on either Guard or Bronze Fire.
It’s guard There was a 16 order guide floating around. Also bronze fire is in the super dutys the color 360 view for the new 2017 defaults to bronze fire.
Good to know. I can sleep peacefully for another 6 years.
I just can’t handle red, silver, black, and chrome all at once. Too much.
I’ll take mine as an XLT Sport Appearance, please, with monochrome grille, bumper, and door handles, and the very simple 6-spoke 20s. Any color works as long as it’s not white or black. A shame that Blue Jeans and Sport Appearance aren’t available together.
Chrome in pickup quantities gives me hives.
I’m with you on that. The perfect truck for my is XLT SuperCab 8′ bed with the sport appearance package, FX4 package, max tow package, and other goodies.
After several minutes of frustrated clicking, it seems you can’t get any SuperCab/8′ bed with any sort of Sport Appearance Package. But you can get it with the FX4 package. And IMO the HD Payload Package is even better than the Max Tow package, because all the strengthening they do for higher payload also increases the tow rating to the same or higher levels.
Boo this lack of configuration! Fine. I will accept the HD payload package! I get confused with my F150 online builds. So many permutations.
You made the right choice. Now you just gotta splurge for the $275 trailer mirrors, which IMO are indispensable when pulling a trailer.
The only downside with the HDPP now is that between 1997 and 2014, it came with really neat 7-lug, 7-spoke wheels. The ’15s come with heavy-duty 6-lugs (though the wheels are still unique), which means it’ll be a lot harder to pick one out in the wild.
I’ve never purchased a half ton truck for personal use. The last few times I’ve purchased 3-5 year end fleet specials. Last time it was Chevrolets because my note on four of them was $900/month for 72 months. 0% financing and cheap prices. We paid them off faster, but the flexibility was helpful.
Before that, it was five 2006 F150s with the 4.6L.
I’ve sprinkled single RAMs in there every once in awhile, but they never lasted as long. My 98 Dodge Ram was the best of the bunch.
The XLT Sport only comes in 5 colors. I think these met the definition of “simple 6-spoke 20s.”
http://imgur.com/a/iXNSk
That’s the truck and the wheels, although I’ll have mine with the trailer mirrors. I think my favorite color is Ruby Red.
It’s more fun to imagine an alternate universe where I need a F-150 than one where I need a HD truck.
The only way to get the trailer mirrors on a Sport is to also get the trailer tow package, but I suppose you could also get them aftermarket. Or maybe not, considering how few ’15s I’ve seen so far with the trailer mirrors.
That’s my configuration. SuperCab, short bed, XLT Sport Appearance, 3.5TT, trailer tow package (with the accompanying 3.55 locker and spring rates), trailer mirrors, big fuel tank, and all available luxury goodies.
If you really want “luxury goodies,” you could do a Lariat Sport, but that’d be $5000 more.
“but I would rather die fighting than to do an injustice to this membership or our institution.”
Did he vote for or against Tier II, I wonder?
Yeah, he’s acting like the UAW didn’t negotiate this contract only a few years ago. Pretty sure Ford has been doing lots of profit sharing with its workers too.
Go ahead and fire them, its not like the body panels being produced are straight anyway. Bring in some fresh republican cost cutting blood.
Why is the Bon Jovi song “Livin’ on a Prayer” now stuck in my head?
Scumbag, parasitic, maggot union, always trying to strike the right balance between keeping their host alive & putting it into a very grave state of health, in order to suck as much blood from it as possible.
You’ve just described my marriage!
You could say the same thing about the shareholders. In fact, you pretty much described what private equity is about.
There’s no logical disagreement that much of PE operations involve, and even inherently depend on, as a matter of course (both historically speaking and business model – de facto), asset stripping.
So, touché.
Do you hear that?…is the sound of all those jobs moving to Mexico
Not happening for the F150. This is the UAWs last chance to get paid on a contract and remove the tiers.
“This is the UAWs last chance to get paid on a contract and remove the tiers.”
Agree!
So to the UAW. “Smooth move, exlax!”
It will be interesting to see if the F150 can remain the best-selling truck in the US when wage suppression has ensured that no one can afford one.
4 years ago I considered a 2wd XLT coyote crew cab for around $26k (texans get’em cheap) and I passed. Today that same truck configuration somehow escalated to $32k. No thanks, but for those rich middle class folks out there, enjoy that monthly note.
The B&P says that would start at $37K before options, but then you get $10K or more off on rebates.
psar, the same thing was pretty much said ten years ago, twenty years ago as truck prices rose faster than those of all other vehicles.
Since the demise of the BOF sedans, pickup trucks have become the new de facto BOF sedan.
And the four door pickup truck was the answer to the wishes and hopes of the masses.
My next new truck will be a 4-door, and I don’t care what it costs. I bet many Americans feel that way too, regardless of how much those new trucks are going to cost in the future.
An F-150 XL SuperCrew 4×2 is the modern equivalent of a Ford Custom 500–all the size and powertrains of the Galaxie (XLT) or LTD (Lariat), just less creature comforts. The King Ranch is a Mercury Marquis, and the Platinum is a Lincoln. No, really, the Platinum trim replaced the Lincoln Mark LT in 2009.
I’m in a business directly tied to commercial real estate.
People here wouldn’t believe me if I spoke of specifics as to what inflation is like in terms of labor, materials, design work, municipal fees, etc.
Inflation is insane right now…extraordinary.
The Federal Reserve’s method of calculating inflation in so flawed that they can take it and shove it directly up Janet Yellen’s a$$hole.
Whether people are making 30k a year or 300k, they’re debt slaves – primarily because of massive inflation (coupled with the fact that they always discover new ways to spend more than they make, inevitably).
Debt slaves…everywhere…as far as the eye can see.
It’s not the 1% and 99%; it’s closer to the .4% and the 99.6%.
Houses that would have cost $390,000 in 2010 are now $800,000.
Our paving costs for a 1/2 mile, two lane section of asphalt road is 2x what it would have been in 2010, and this is with oil being 40% lower.
Go to the grocery store and fill a cart with milk, eggs, beef, bread, vegetables, fruit, etc.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to determine that:
a) The Fed and other central banks have pumped another giant bubble, bigger and BROADER than the previous bubble (as they always are), and
b) It’s inevitably going to go “pop” and make a huge mess of things.
p.s. – Waiting on Pch101 to come along and parrot some Lame Stream Media Propaganda to me about how “inflation is too low,” via Janet Yellen herself.
I have to agree completely. Look at main street- no matter what they say, it’s not pretty….
This is a weird volley to me. The UAW is currently negotiating with FCA, why call out Ford? Unless there’s something else going on here it seems like a totally unnecessary maneuver.
Because that’s where the $$$ is right now (trucks).
If the UAW stated their intention of striking a midsize or small car factory, most automakers would dare them.
VCplayer,
I can see a couple of potential moves. And for once I will not lay blame on the UAW.
Imagine if the new F-150 wasn’t as popular as Ford likes and inventory builds? How convenient to have a reduction in production. Ford has so far come up with a different excuse each and every month for lower than anticipated sales of the aluminium F-150. Chassis shortage, manufacturing too many of the incorrect models for the market, production issues, etc.
We’ll see in a week or so when the “fastest moving” pickup data arrives.
Ford also employed a larger workforce to produce the aluminium F-150s. How can their be labour issues?
Hmmmm…………………….Ford spinning again.