Workers at Ford’s joint venture plant in Kentucky file for union elections by Reuters

Written by Nora Eckert

DETROIT (Reuters) – The United Auto Workers union is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election at a Kentucky battery plant operated by a Ford Motor Co (NYSE:) joint venture, the union said in a statement on Wednesday.

The BlueOval SK plant, owned by a partnership between SK On and Ford in South Korea, is the latest battery battleground for the consortium as it seeks to grow its dwindling membership and secure jobs while electrifying the industry.

A representative for BlueOval SK said most workers at the battery facility had not yet been hired, and called the union’s petition “premature.”

“None of our team members have had the opportunity to see how our factory will operate because we have not started production yet,” the statement read.

“The UAW is trying to push BlueOval SK into unionizing before our entire workforce has the opportunity to make a truly free and informed choice.”

UAW President Shawn Fain sought to expand on last year’s historic win at the Volkswagen (ETR:) plant in Tennessee. The labor group has not won significant votes since, suffering a defeat at a Mercedes plant in Alabama in May.

The UAW invested $40 million last year to organize non-union automakers across the United States, a push that included companies like Tesla (NASDAQ:) and the UAW. Toyota (New York Stock Exchange:).

Battery plants partly owned by automakers in Detroit were a major point of contention during the six-week union strike against Ford, General Motors (NYSE:) and Jeep maker Stellantis (NYSE:) in late 2023.

The union previously achieved wins with Ultium Cells, a joint venture between GM and LG Energy Solution, at plants in Ohio and Tennessee.

In June 2024, it reached a preliminary contract at a GM battery plant in Ohio, and in September, GM agreed to recognize the union at an Ultium plant in Tennessee.

Companies can agree to voluntarily recognize workers once a majority signs cards supporting unionization, which is what happened with the Ultium facility in Tennessee.

In cases where a company does not agree to do so, there are elections overseen by the NLRB, in which workers must vote by majority to join a union.

A union can petition for such an election after collecting signatures from at least 30% of workers, according to the NLRB.

The UAW said in November that a “vast majority” of workers at the Kentucky facility had signed cards indicating their support for joining the union, without specifying a percentage.

The election has not yet been scheduled, but it usually takes several weeks between the union filing for the election and holding it.

While the union has received support from President Joe Biden — including in person on the picket lines during the strike — Fine’s relationship with President-elect Donald Trump is more contentious.

The incoming president said the union leader should be fired, and Fine said before the election that if Trump won, it would be “a complete disaster for the working class.”