Dive Brief:
- UAW Local 1112 members voted to ratify their contract with Ultium Cells over the weekend, according to a press release.
- The contract, approved by 98% of members, will increase wages for production workers at the General Motors battery supplier by 30% over the next three years.
- The United Auto Workers says the deal “sets a new standard for the EV industry with strong wages and benefits and historic health and safety protections.”
Dive Insight:
The new contract, effective June 17, 2024, through April 30, 2028, builds upon an interim agreement ratified in August that immediately raised wages by 25%.
In a press release, Kareem Maine, Ultium Cells Ohio plant director, said the company is pleased with the results of the ratified contract, the first of its kind for the U.S. battery manufacturing industry.
“The contract captures the operational flexibility needed to be successful in the industry and recognizes employee’s efforts and continued success as a company,” he said. “We look forward to the continuous partnership with the UAW as we make improvements and grow as a company.”
When Ultium Cells opened in 2021, workers were paid $16.50 an hour. By October 2027, production workers will make $35 an hour, 112% more than before they joined the UAW, according to the union.
“This is setting a precedent that can be built on,” said Ultium worker Chris Wyatt in the union’s press release. “This is a guideline that every other EV plant can follow through with.”
The contract also includes an immediate $3,000 bonus, and it guarantees four full-time union health and safety representatives in the plant as well as a full-time union industrial hygienist on site.
Ultium Cells faced a $270,091 fine in October after officials found 19 health and safety violations at the $2.3 billion, 2.8 million-square-foot plant. OSHA inspectors found the facility exposed workers to hazardous conditions after it failed to train them on safety and emergency response procedures, including the impact of exposure to dangerous chemicals used to produce cathode electrodes for batteries.
The battery manufacturer, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, employs 1,700 people in high-tech jobs at its Lordstown, Ohio, facility.
