John Williams, Business Manager of the Sheet Metal Air Rail Transportation (SMART) Union Local 4, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast and discussed Ford Motor Co.’s $5.6 billion electric vehicle plant, which is being built in Western Tennessee, and its impact on his Local.
Local 4 serves 350 members in Tennessee.
The plant will employ all union workers, including 3,000 tradesmen and tradeswomen onsite.
Roughly 300 to 400 of those will be sheet metal workers. Williams explained how Ford insisted all work be union despite Tennessee being a So-Called “Right to Work” state. Ford considered the use of non-union workers to be a deal breaker.
Williams also spoke about how some of the $350 billion in federal COVID-19 aid through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) can be used to improve ventilation in public buildings.
Listen to the entire episode to learn more about these topics.