BROOK PARK, Ohio — As the United Auto Workers strike continues around the nation, hundreds of union workers have been laid off from Ford Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park.
UAW Local 1250 spokesperson Pat Wallace confirmed to 3News that 376 people will be laid off from the plant's I-4 department. In a Sunday press release, Ford announced that the number of layoffs would total 372 people at the Cleveland Engine Plant.
"The Company has blatantly disregarded our seniority agreements and has decided to Layoff the I-4 Department and ignoring our seniority agreements," UAW Local 1250 announced in a newsletter. "The National Ford Department will be filing Unfair Labor Practice charges against the Company regarding this matter."
According to a release by Ford, a total of 495 employees have been asked not to report to work, including 94 employees at the Lima Engine Plant in Northwest Ohio.
The 365-acre Cleveland Engine Plant has been open since 1952 and currently employs approximately 1,834 workers, according to its website. The plant makes Ford's 2.0/2.3-liter EcoBoost I4 engines and 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6 engines.
The UAW's targeted strikes against General Motors, Stellantis and Ford began at select factories after the union’s contract with the companies expired in mid-September — and have grown to a total of five vehicle assembly plants and 38 parts warehouses since.
Ford has plants striking in Illinois and Michigan, directly impacting Cleveland Engine Plant No. 1.
"We actually supply those plants with the heartbeat," Wallace said. "The heartbeat, we call, is the motor, and without the motor, vehicles don't run."
Specifically, Ford says the strike by workers at its Chicago Assembly Plant is causing the reduction of production of parts that would normally be shipped there.
Approximately 7,900 UAW workers at Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant and Chicago Assembly Plant are striking, causing approximately 1,800 strike-related layoffs in the company across the country.
“While we are doing what we can to avoid layoffs, we have no choice but to reduce production of parts that would be destined for a plant that is on strike,” said Bryce Currie, vice president, Americas Manufacturing and Labor Affairs, Ford Blue. “Strike-related layoffs are an unfortunate result of the UAW’s strategy.”
In addition to the Brook Park plant layoffs, Northeast Ohio has been impacted by the strike at two other locations.
Last week, GM laid off 130 workers from its Parma Metals Center. Also, workers at the Stellantis parts and distribution center in Streetsboro went on strike on September 22.
The union is seeking 36% general wage increases over four years, as well as a 32-hour week with 40 hours of pay, the restoration of traditional defined-benefit pensions for new hires and a return of cost-of-living pay raises, among other benefits.
UAW President Shawn Fain gave an update on the negotiations on Friday. The full update can be watched below:
Fain said on Friday that GM has agreed to put battery plants under a master contract with the union. He also noted that they are making progress and not calling upon any other plants to strike at this time.
"We're fighting for what we deserve. It is what it is. People are starting to pay attention," added UAW Local 1005 President Dan Schwartz. "The longer it (the strike) goes, the deeper our members are gonna dig in and be even more aggravated because they know this could have been of avoided a long time ago."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.