Ford Workers Shut Down Dearborn Truck Plant Production, Factory Now Back Online
25 May 2020, 15:26 UTC ·
by Mircea Panait
The health crisis still isn’t over, and even though things are getting better in the United States, there are exceptions. Take, for instance, this video of Ford Dearborn Truck Plant workers shutting down the lines over working shoulder to shoulder, in violation of social distancing rules.
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An employee told Labor Notes “they were threatening to fire everyone who refused to be doubled up. I didn’t care, I walked out.” As if that wasn’t aggravating enough, the report says there’s not enough time between the A-shift and B-shift for thorough cleaning. But that’s not all, oh no!
The Ford Motor Company shut down the factory last week after learning that a worker tested positive for coronavirus, a few days after production had finally restarted. The UAW is calling for the Blue Oval to test all of the workers. Two more requests were made, namely an extra 20 minutes of break time and shutting the plant for 24 hours if someone tests positive.
In addition to this state of affairs, the Ford plant in Chicago’s South Side where the Explorer and Aviator are made has reported a positive case. Due to the high levels of absenteeism on the lines from regular workers, temporaries have been employed although “they don’t know the jobs.”
“The company had more new temporary workers than jobs so they could have workers double up on jobs,” said an employee of the Dearborn Truck Plant. “That means working shoulder to shoulder, they definitely are not six feet apart. Everyone started to refuse to work and the line was not running,” the FoMoCo worker who wishes to remain anonymous told Labor Notes.
The working place of approximately 4,400 people, the Dearborn Truck Plant is responsible for the F-150 line of half-ton pickup trucks and the F-150 Raptor dune basher. At the present moment, both it and the Chicago plant are back online following deep cleaning and disinfecting.
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