The United Auto Workers Union is asking federal labor regulators to approve a union election by workers at Ford Motor Co.'s battery plant in Kentucky, reflecting the strength of organized labor after the election of Donald J. Trump. This will be an important test.
The union petitioned the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday to allow workers at the new plant in Glendale, about 55 miles south of Louisville, to vote on whether they want to join the UAW. The factory is scheduled to begin production this year. A joint venture between Ford and South Korean battery company SK On.
The UAW said in a statement that the “vast majority” of workers at the plant have signed cards expressing their participation in the union.
“We want to be able to come together with management and have a say in how the business is run,” said Bill Wilmoth, a production worker at the Glendale plant who is leading the organizing effort. “We would like the opportunity to negotiate a contract.”
Voting to join the UAW would also increase the chances that workers employed at Ford's other two battery plants would also become union members. The plants (one in Kentucky and one in Tennessee) are under construction and are also joint ventures between Ford and SK.
“We are excited about the future and are committed to maintaining direct relationships with our employees,” the joint venture, known as BlueOval SK, said in a statement. BlueOval SK has approximately 750 employees in Kentucky and 350 employees in Tennessee.
Union elections will take place after Trump takes office, and likely after Trump appointees take over leadership positions on labor boards. Trump's appointees were widely seen by labor experts as hostile to unions during his first term. Labor boards often ruled in favor of employers rather than organized labor.
Tensions between the UAW and Trump escalated during the 2024 campaign. Union president Sean Fein campaigned vigorously for Vice President Kamala Harris, calling Trump a “scab” and frequently saying members would see greater progress under Harris. criticized. Still, a significant number of UAW members supported Trump in Michigan and Wisconsin.
Under President Biden, the UAW received enthusiastic support from the White House. Biden has publicly defended labor unions, including the UAW in 2023 when the auto workers union went on strike against three major Michigan-based automakers (General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis). appeared on the picket line.
After winning significant wage and benefit increases from the three companies, the UAW began a campaign to organize nonunion auto plants in the South. It won votes at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but lost votes at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama.
A yes vote at Blue Oval SK would give the UAW another victory in the South and give the union voting momentum at other battery plants that have recently started production or are under construction around the country. There is a possibility.
The UAW is already organizing workers at the GM battery plant in Ohio. The factory is a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solutions. GM and LG recently began production at a second battery factory in Spring Hill, Tennessee, which has not yet been organized by the UAW.
Stellantis, the automaker behind Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, is building a battery factory in Indiana, and the UAW wants to organize one as well.
GM and LG had been planning a third battery factory in Lansing, Michigan, but GM plans to sell ownership of the factory, which is currently under construction, to LG.
