General Motors says it will now support the efforts of the United Auto Workers to unionize employees at its two new battery plants in Ohio and Tennessee.
The automaker said previously that wages at the two new battery plants would be decided by Ultium Cells LLC – the automaker’s new battery manufacturing subsidiary, which is a joint venture with Korean battery manufacturer LG Chem. GM CEO Mary Barra indicated that worker pay at the facilities would be equivalent to what component manufacturing workers receive, which is between $15 and $17. An assembly line worker at a UAW GM facility, by comparison, can earn as much as $31.
The UAW previously encouraged GM to make sure the battery plant positions “are good-paying union jobs like those of their brothers and sisters who make internal combustion engines,” as opposed to the lesser component manufacturing wage. President Joe Biden put forth a similar sentiment, encouraging U.S. automakers to create “good-paying, union jobs of the future,” when setting up new battery and electric vehicle manufacturing plants.
Ultium Cells Lordstown plant rendering
In a statement released this week, GM indicated that it had changed course on the decision for its battery plant workers to organize and would now support the UAW’s efforts to implement top union wages at the plants.
“GM will build on a long history of supporting unions to promote safety, quality, training and well-paying jobs for American workers,” the automaker said in a statement. “Both GM and Ultium Cells LLC respect workers’ right to unionize and the efforts of the UAW to organize battery cell manufacturing workers.”
The UAW will be keen for workers to organize at battery and electric motor manufacturing plants, as producing these components requires fewer employees than internal combustion engines and transmissions. This, in turn, could cause union membership to dip by more than half over the next 10-15 years, experts predict.
The Ultium Cells LLC plant in Lordstown, Ohio will open later this year, while the second Ultium Cells plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee will open its doors in late 2022.
A statement released by the UAW this week indicated the union would enter a dialogue with GM regarding the battery plants shortly.
“We in the UAW look forward to starting discussions with General Motors regarding their joint venture to produce batteries in Ohio and Tennessee so workers will have a voice at the table in order to create good-paying union jobs and benefits,” the union said.
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Comments
With the amount of employees gm will cut with the elimination of ICE, they can afford to pay union wages to battery employees.
Welcome to the 70’s where inflation is rampant, cars are built cheaper to make up for gov. overreach and the UAW is paid 70$/hr for non critical projects as a way to appease the mobs.
Battery costs just doubled…along with everything else.
Don’t understand this. What is upside for GM?
So much for lower cost batteries!
What a joke.
GM totally ignored their contact with the UAW and closed the second largest assembly complex in America at Lordstown Ohio.
GM and the UAW are still going thru legal proceedings regarding GMs contract violations from this.
Now they are going to bring the UAW back to the new battery plant around the corner from the old Lordstown plants?
I don’t believe a word gM says.
$15 is the new minimum wage folks. Thank your lefty voters. $4 gas isn’t unusual for the left. You people have very short memories.
Good luck staying competitive GM. Not one foreign vehicle manufacturer building vehicles in the US has a union workforce. This is despite huge efforts by the UAW to organize these plants. This because their employees can see that UAW jobs have decreased every year for decades. The foreign manufacturers pay good wages, provide good benefits, treat employees well, reward good workers, and involve employees in ensuring excellent quality of their vehicles. All this costs less than Detroit pays UAW workers, who even get paid when laid off.
And once the UAW is gone the imports will either lower pay or become unionized. Your dream is hollow. Were it not for unions the imports would pay minimum wage. Love to compare USA pay to Foreign pay, dollar for dollar.
Wages are not the only problem at Detroit manufacturers and the UAW. They will both fail unless they get together and find ways to produce high quality vehicles at competitive costs.
EVs are a new opportunity but the market will be even more competitive in vehicle range, price, quality, reliability and dependability.
I would not bet on Detroit. Remember how they ignored the Japanese entering the US market in the 70’s and 80’s. GM once had 50% + of the US market. Today it is less than 20%.
GM now sells more vehicles in China than in the US. I am not sure what this means long term for its US operations and employees.