The United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union just announced that it has filed a petition for election with the Cleveland office of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) in an effort to gain official representation for the roughly 900 workers at the recently opened GM Ultium Cells plant in Warren, Ohio.
In a statement, UAW President Ray Curry said that Ultium Cells LLC had failed to recognize the UAW after a majority of workers signed cards authorizing the union to represent them.
“A majority of Ultium workers have signed cards authorizing the UAW to represent them,” Curry said. “By refusing to recognize their majority will, Ultium – which is a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution – has decided to ignore democracy and delay the recognition process. Make no mistake: whether it is by card check or union election, these workers will be members of the UAW.”
The UAW previously implemented “card check” authorization as a means of bypassing a secret ballot vote, eliminating the need for an election in order to fast-track unionization at the GM Ultium Cells facility. However, despite an estimated 90 percent of workers signing the card check, Ultium declined to recognize the UAW without a vote, saying that it “respects workers’ freedom to choose union representation and the efforts of the UAW to organize battery cell manufacturing workers at [the] Ohio manufacturing site,” adding that it would comply with labor law that “protects our employees’ right to freely decide unionization through a voluntary election conducted by the NLRB.”
UAW President Ray Curry
“Despite the UAW engaging in good faith discussions, it is clear now that the company’s strategy was to delay and deny workers union representation for as long as possible,” said Region 2B Director Wayne Blanchard. “The UAW filed the petition today so workers can get on with forming their union without any further delay.”
GM has plans to build multiple battery manufacturing facilities in the U.S. under the Ultium Cells LLC joint venture, with the Ohio plant being only the first of four facilities now in the works. Additional facilities are under construction in Spring Hill, Tennessee, and Lansing, Michigan. A fourth plant may be built in Indiana.
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Comments
It is a heavy union area. That is why it is so difficult for the state to get companies to go there. They have lost over 50,000 jobs in the last 20 years.
Southern Ohio is mostly non union and gets the work.
You have no idea what you’re talking about. GM had a plant in Norwood, a suburb of Cincinnati that was UAW and built the Camaro/Firebirds. The plant had an incredible amount of union problems. It closed 35 years ago. Ford has a transmission plant in Sharonville, another suburb of Cincinnati. Hamilton, another suburb about 40 miles north of Cincinnati, was a major paper/cardboard producer years ago. Heavily unionized and now the paper plants are all gone. Armco Steel, once a major steel company located in Middletown, about 50 miles north of Cincinnati is now a shell of what it once was
There are a number of other companies operating non union in southern Ohio.
I am not just limiting thing to car plants.
You have no idea. Start to look around.
Honda is a classic non union company in southern Ohio and they are still growing.
Again, you have no idea what you’re talking about. Honda is located in Marysville, about 40 minutes east of Columbus. Columbus is not in Southern Ohio. I live in Cincinnati, which is as far south in Ohio as you can go, so I know what I’m talking about. Try looking at a map.
Depends on where you live as up north here that is southern Ohio.
Our south starts around Delaware.
You are just looking for an argument. Will just state that the companies are locating to the lower parts of Ohio to avoid the Union hardened North that still is without work as the companies closed and left.
You feel better with Lower Parts Of Ohio or you want to argue about that too.
Once again, you keep spewing ignorance. Since you can’t answer my question with any intellect, you want to accuse me of trying to argue. Educate yourself. Columbus, Ohio is as southern Ohio as Orlando Florida is southern Florida
Lol. You must be a blast at the trailer park rec hall.
Get a life.
Go unions, then u wonder why all the jobs leave this country.
Started with the original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA.) Since then so many trade agreements with other countries. Next the US companies began rushing work overseas. Fewer rules and regulations is part of the reason. The other reason is Greed!
This is a hypothetical GM plant that has the UAW in it. GM: We want to build a new plant in Detroit. The product will be a car. The car will be a Buick and Chevy 4 Door Sedan. The new plant will have the capacity to build 400 cars per day. 200 cars per shift. Each shift will require 1,000 workers with the line speed set to build 200 cars per shift. The UAW: We want to unionize this plant. GM: Okay here is the contract, to make this plant efficient we will hire 2,000 workers and set the line speed for 400 cars per day. UAW: Okay we need 2 shop stewards for each shift in the Body Shop, Paint Shop, Trim, and Chassis Department, Union President, Chaiman, Treasurer, and Secretary, Three trustees. A total of 15 UAW representatives. GM: Okay we have a deal. UAW holds elections for all the union positions from the 2,000 line workers reducing the number of workers to 1,985. Fact: The workers left on the line still have to absorb the work of the 15 who are no longer working on the line. This example was simplified for the people who never worked in a Union Plant. It is a lot more complicated, but my point is the person on the line has to work harder while the union reps do nothing.
Peace,
United Auto Worker
Retired
Good insight Al. I’ve been in a union, but not the auto union. Union is just a slimy mob mentality of a company that infests companies for their own self-interests and preservation. Their “representation” only serves to suck money from both members and companies to line their pockets. It’s an outdated business model but unfortunately still has a grip on some markets. In the US and especially in 2022 the manufacture has to pay people a good wage to get them to show up. What good is the union anymore? Sounds like without them a few sleezballs would be without jobs but workers could get paid just as much and GM could either improve their products or lower their prices to stay competitive.
Thanks Mike, that was just a simple example, it’s not all bad. This topic can be debated for days.
Peace
You forgot the part where all of that ends with “this is your union working for you.”
Former member of Local 699
Thank God No More