Eight days ago, workers at Ford's Kentucky truck plant in Louisville went on strike.

The 8700 workers joined other members of the United Auto Workers Union who also walked off the job September 15th while demanding higher pay from America's Big Three automakers.

What are Kentucky workers thinking?

After more than a week on the picket line, Kentucky Éditions Jun Leffler went to the local union hall and has this report.

Workers at Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, the company that builds Chrysler models, began their strike over a month ago.

President of the UAW Local 862 says he was ready to join the fight when he got the notice last week.

If you ask in a room who's a part of the Ford family, somebody might go to Holden who feels like they're a part of the Ford family.

I don't see any hands.

And I hear I've been a part of the Ford.

I've been a part of the Ford family for years now.

34,000 auto workers have joined the fight, including 8700 workers out of Ford's largest factory based in Louisville.

Dunn says workers want to take back what they once had but lost.

So, you know, for quite some time, the oh seven era, you know, when the auto companies were in trouble, some were, you know, kids would go bankrupt one day.

And we said, hey, look, we've got to do something.

And we sacrifice.

We gave back.

To help our retirees.

We gave back to help the company.

And we were promised that that when we got back to nine concessionary times that we would try and the Ford Motor Company to try and help our members.

And that just didn't happen.

The union wants cost of living adjustments and pensions restored.

It's also asking for a 32 hour workweek and a nearly 40% raise.

Ford has offered an historic 23% raise, which then says is promising.

Don't have the outcome right now that we want.

But in my 29 years, it's the it's the best facilitated process I've ever seen.

Done has two sons that also work for Ford.

And he says he's looking out for them.

You know, everybody sees where we're at, but this is more about our future.

And one of the things that I've been trying to do is genuinely tell as a leader, look, our future is leaving it better than we found it.

For those employees that are younger in seniority and actually are younger in age, for the most part.

Newer workers are under a tiered system that slows their earning potential.

While Ford says the average hourly pay at the Kentucky plant is $78,000, the union says those just starting earn less than half of that.

They said, Hey, look, from here on out, from this day behind, we're going to bring somebody in.

We're going to bring them in at this pay.

They're going to spend, you know, 22 weeks, and then we'll bring them up a little bit and then we'll bring them up a little bit.

In this case, it would take in the last year agreement almost six years to get the full pay.

The UAW hopes to protect its youngest workers while including all workers building electric vehicles.

Ford is building two EV battery plants in Kentucky that could open in 2025.

The industry is going there, so we have to kind of get the cart before the horse and prepare now so we can have those jobs for technical.

So when you go from an industrial combustion engine or they call it ice to an EV engine, that you vehicle, you lose your edge, exponent your drive, change transmission components.

So it cuts out a significant number of your workforce.

And unless we protect the endgame of the ice transition into electric vehicles, then we're going to leave those people behind.

The company and workers are feeling impacts of the strike.

Wells Fargo expects Ford to lose $150 million a week from the Kentucky plant closure alone.

And because workers aren't making cars, more than 400 workers at a parts plant in Michigan have been laid off.

Striking union workers have lost their usual pay, but are still making $500 a week.

That pay comes from the UAW strike fund, set up for such occasions.

Even outside the Ford plant, those on the picket line get some cheers.

James Cannon has worked at the Ford plant for ten years.

Well, I guess we get what we deserve.

I'm ready to go back to work.

But until then, I leave it in the hands of UAW.

Picketers take weekly shifts.

If negotiations aren't resolved, Cannon will return to the picket line, not the assembly line, next Wednesday.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm June Leffler.

Thank you, June.

We reached out to Ford for an interview about the strike.

Ford declined, but they sent us this statement, quote, While Kentucky truck plant generates outsized revenue and profit, it also helps support many less profitable plants and supports Ford being in a position to offer a full lineup of vehicles and maintain its position as the largest employer of UAW auto workers and, quote.