General Motors recognizes UAW at EV battery factory in TN

The joint venture between General Motors (GM) and South Korea’s LG Energy Solution (LGES) recently recognized its employees’ desire to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. 

“The team at Ultium Cells in Tennessee has indicated their desire to be represented by the UAW. The parties will now move into the local bargaining process,” a GM spokesperson stated. 

GM and LG Energy Solution’s electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Tennessee is one of three Ultium Cell factories from the joint venture. According to Reuters, in 2022, employees at the joint venture’s battery cell factory in Ohio also voted to join the UAW. 

As per the UAW’s deal with the joint venture for its Ohio battery plant, its 1,600 workers under contract will receive higher wages, overtime provisions, and 70 minutes of breaks per shift. At the time, U.S. President Joseph Biden issued a statement about the newly-minted agreement between the UAW and GM. 

“With the help of my Investing in America agenda, the UAW and companies like General Motors are building the future of Autos in America while we bring back good paying union jobs to communities like Lordstown,” said President Biden. 

The battery plant in Tennessee has 1,000 workers. It is producing batteries for GM’s Cadillac Lyriq EV. The Ultium Cell factory hit a 90% battery yield rate within one month of starting operations. The TN battery plant is expected to reach a total production capacity of 50GWh, enough to support the production of 600,000 EVs that can travel 310 miles per charge.

General Motors and the South Korean battery supplier partnered with Redwood Materials to recycle the production scraps from its Ohio and Tennessee plants. Together, GM, LGES, and Redwood Materials are significantly contributing to a growing EV supply chain in North America.

Battery workers are seizing their power! Today, 1,000 workers at Ultium Cells in Spring Hill, TN, voted to join the UAW. They are the second Ultium plant built in the US and the second to go union. The first was Lordstown, OH, in 2022. pic.twitter.com/dOlbED34if

— UAW (@UAW) September 4, 2024

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