On the Dash:
- The UAW won the majority vote to unionize at a Ford joint venture battery plant in Glendake, Kentucky.
- There are 41 pending challenge ballots, which the union believes to be illegitimate.
- The UAW’s win supports its push to unionize EV and battery plants amid the industry’s shift to electrification.
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union announced on Wednesday that it had won a majority of votes at a Ford joint venture battery plant in Kentucky, paving the way for unionization. However, the union reports that there are still 41 outstanding challenge ballots, which they allege may have been illegitimately submitted as an employer tactic to interfere with the election.
“We believe they are illegitimate and represent nothing more than an employer tactic to flood the unit and undermine the outcome,” the union wrote in an official statement. “he challenged ballots are not part of the group of workers who built their union from the bottom up.”
The union also called out Ford, imploring the auto giant to acknowledge that the majority of BlueOval SK‘s employees have chosen to join the UAW and demand that it cease its efforts to undermine the election’s outcome.
Upon reaching full capacity, the BlueOval SK joint venture will employ approximately 5,000 workers across two Kentucky-based battery plants, which will produce batteries for Ford EVs, including the F-150 Lightning.
The BlueOval SK Battery Park employees initially launched their public campaign to join the UAW in November 2024, with the majority of the workforce signing union authorization cards, citing concerns about their safety and fair compensation.
The UAW’s victory would provide a significant boost to the union as the auto industry shifts toward electrification. UAW President Shawn Fain has emphasized the importance of winning votes at battery and electric vehicle plants as this transition continues.
