The Ford Motor Co. announced today that it is expanding operations in three Michigan plants and will spend over a billion dollars in the process:
Ford Motor Co. will invest $1.2 billion in three Michigan facilities to prepare for production of the all-new Ford Ranger and Bronco, and to support the company’s expansion into mobility.
The company said Tuesday it will invest $850 million to retool its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne for truck and SUV production; $150 million in its Romeo Engine Plant to expand capacity for several vehicles; and $200 million to build a data center at the company’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant. Ford announced in January the Flat Rock facility also would see a $700 million investment and 700 new jobs to support the production of electrified and autonomous vehicles.
Pr*sident Donald Trump quickly took credit for the announcement. But there’s a minor problem with that (of course). 70% of the money being spent on the expansion was part of a contract negotiation with the United Autoworkers (UAW) two years ago:
“These Michigan Assembly Plant and Romeo Engine plant announcements are consistent with what we agreed to and talked about with the UAW in 2015 negotiations,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas.
Michigan Democratic Party Chair Brandon Dillon characterized Trump’s claim as “a joke”. “Donald Trump taking credit for Ford’s latest investment in Michigan is like a kid telling his friends he made dinner when his dad picked up a Hot-N-Ready from Little Caesars,” Dillons said in a statement. “These investments are the result of collective bargaining between UAW and Ford in 2015, made possible by President Barack Obama’s faith in America’s auto workers. Donald Trump is the most anti-worker occupant of the Oval Office we’ve ever seen, and the American people are no longer buying his con game. The fact that someone who’s supposed to be the president of the United States has no accomplishments of his own, and feels the need to take credit for someone else’s, is a joke.”
It’s clear what Trump is trying to do. He wants unionized autoworkers to see him as someone who is looking out for them and their jobs. The truth, of course, is that Trump is as much on the side of the average union worker as any corporatist: ZERO.
If you are a unionized autoworker, remember this: Donald Trump thinks that you make too much money.
*Donald Trump is the biggest loser of the popular vote ever to be President of the United States.
