By Kalea Hall
The United Auto Workers said on Wednesday that workers at a battery manufacturing joint venture between General Motors and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution have overwhelmingly approved a first contract with the company.
The agreement, approved by nearly 1,000 UAW members working for the Ultium Cells joint venture, improves upon gains achieved in the union’s national contract with GM for those workers, the union said.
Specifically, the agreement ensures fair work practices and workplace safety at the plant and secures “fair pay and benefits,” according to the union’s negotiating committee.
Ultium workers at the Tennessee plant make battery cells for electric vehicles produced at the neighboring assembly plant including the Cadillac Lyriq.
The deal’s highlights include a one-time $3,000 lump sum payment and wages that align with what Ultium workers make at a plant in northeast Ohio, which was the first to unionize. The wages currently start at $26.91 and include increases every year to reach $35 per hour by September 2027.
Ultium Cells did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the deal.
With Detroit Three automakers pivoting to producing electric vehicles, the company’s battery plants, often built in partnership with other companies, have become a battleground for the union.
UAW officials have voiced concerns about members’ job security with more EVs coming. UAW President Shawn Fain has made organizing these plants a priority and a sticking point during the UAW and Detroit Three talks in 2023 that led to a six-week strike.
In September 2024, Ultium Cells agreed to recognize the union at the Tennessee plant. That move came after workers at the Ultium Cells plant in northeast Ohio overwhelmingly voted to join the union in 2022 and signed off on a new contract in 2024 that came with significant wage increases.
The union is still negotiating a first contract for workers at the Volkswagen Tennessee plant where workers voted to join the union in April 2024.
(Reporting by Kalea Hall in Detroit; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
