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The
UAW said hourly employees at the Ultium Cells LLC plant near
Cleveland had voted 710 to 16 in favor of joining the union.
Ultium confirmed workers had voted to unionize and said it
respected "the decision of our Ohio workforce supporting
representation by the UAW. We look forward to a positive working
relationship with the UAW."
The closely watched vote was a crucial test of the UAW's ability
to organize workers in the growing electric vehicle supply
chain. The Detroit Three automakers all have battery plants in
the works with South Korean partners.
The UAW could face more opposition at plants in southern states
that are less unionized than Ohio.
The UAW petitioned in October to represent about 900 workers at
the Ohio plant after a majority of employees signed cards
authorizing the union to represent them.
"As the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, new
workers entering the auto sector at plants like Ultium are
thinking about their value and worth," UAW President Ray Curry
said Friday. "This vote shows that they want to be a part of
maintaining the high standards and wages that UAW members have
built in the auto industry."
In a trip to South Korea in May, President Joe Biden expressed
support for workers seeking to unionize JV battery plants and
previously prodded the Detroit Three automakers to "deepen your
partnership with the UAW."
Production began in August at the Ohio plant, the first of at
least four planned Ultium U.S. battery factories.
GM and LG Energy are considering an Indiana site for a fourth
U.S. battery plant. They are building a $2.6 billion plant in
Michigan, set to open in 2024. Last week, Ultium said it would
boost its planned investment in a $2.3 billion Tennessee plant
by another $275 million.
In July, the U.S. Energy Department said it intended to lend
Ultium $2.5 billion to help finance new manufacturing
facilities. Sources told Reuters the loan could be finalized as
soon as next week.
Last week, GM CEO Mary Barra expressed support for unionizing
the Ohio plant. On Thursday she said UAW workers and leaders
understood that GM had to be cost competitive. "We don’t have a
right to exist," she said.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; additional reporting by Joseph
White in Detroit; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Bradley Perrett)
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