As a 25-year-old junior executive at the car company that bears his last name, William Clay Ford Jr. had a bracing introduction to labor negotiations when a union official demanded that he stand up and vouch that he was made of the same stuff as his great-grandfather Henry Ford.
Mr. Ford, now the company’s executive chairman, harked back to the moment in an interview this week about how he and his company are navigating one of their most difficult labor negotiations in decades.
The United Automobile Workers union has shut down three Ford plants, including its largest, and other plants and distribution centers at General Motors and Stellantis, which owns Chrysler.
He has referred to the companies as “the enemy,” and has said the union is fighting “corporate greed” and standing up to the “billionaire class.”In a speech this week, Mr. Ford said the strikes were helping nonunion automakers like Tesla, Toyota and Honda.
Mr. Fain responded that workers at those companies were future U.A.W.
Persons:
William Clay Ford Jr, Henry Ford, Ford, harked, Shawn Fain, Fain
Organizations:
United Automobile Workers, General Motors, Chrysler, Toyota, Honda