Ultium Cells LLC, the General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution battery cell joint venture, and the United Auto Workers will begin negotiating on their first contract for workers at Ultium's northeast Ohio plant in January, union spokesperson Sandra Engle said in a statement.
Workers at the Warren, Ohio, battery cell plant earlier this month overwhelmingly voted to have the UAW represent them with 710 voting for the union and 16 voting against it. The plant is one of four U.S. battery cell operations GM and LG plan to open. Production launched first at the Warren facility this past summer.
Ultium Cells spokesperson Brooke Waid said the company "is committed to the collective bargaining process, and will work in good faith with the UAW to reach a competitive agreement that positions our employees and our Ohio battery cell manufacturing facility for success. We look forward to a positive working relationship with the UAW."
The UAW's victory at the Ultium plant came as union members voted in the first direct election for union officers that resulted in some leadership shake-ups. A runoff election for three positions, including the presidency, will start in January, with votes to be tabulated in February.
Current UAW President Ray Curry and Tom Gallagher, Ultium's vice president of operations, indicated at a Dec. 12 press event in Dearborn that both parties intended to move forward as soon as possible on the collective bargaining process after the organization vote.
"We are very optimistic that we can complete that bargaining process expeditiously," Curry said at the time.
The UAW will also look to unionize other Ultium facilities in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Delta Township near Lansing. Experts expect organizing those plants will be easier now that one Ultium plant has UAW representation.
Curry, at the Dearborn event, said the UAW would prefer to have a card-check process for organizing workers at those locations, rather than conducting an election administered by the National Labor Relations Board as the union did in Ohio. The UAW tried for a card-check organizing effort at the Warren plant but said the company pushed against it and wanted an election instead.
The Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will open late next year, and it just received a $275 million investment for expansion there. The Delta Township plant will open in 2024. GM and LG are considering a site in New Carlisle, Indiana, for the location of a fourth plant.
