The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced Wednesday that Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors (GM) and LG Energy Solution, has agreed to recognize the union at its Spring Hill, Tennessee, battery manufacturing plant. This comes after a majority of the plant’s 1,000 workers signed union cards, following the success of a similar unionization effort at Ultium’s Ohio facility in 2022, which led to a new contract with significant wage increases.
The Tennessee plant, which began production in March 2024, supplies battery cells for GM’s Cadillac Lyriq, produced at GM’s Spring Hill Assembly plant. GM had previously agreed to bring its Ultium battery plants under the UAW’s master agreement once a majority of workers chose to unionize, a vital issue during last year’s UAW contract negotiations. These negotiations resulted in a six-week strike at GM and the other Detroit Three automakers.
UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith emphasized the growing union presence in Southern battery plants and electric vehicle factories. “The UAW members at Ultium and VW are proving that the new jobs of the South will be union jobs,” Smith stated, referring to recent unionization efforts in the South, including the Ultium and Volkswagen plants in Tennessee. He further noted that workers in states like Georgia, Kentucky, and Texas are pushing for fair wages and benefits in these emerging industries.
UAW President Shawn Fain has led a $40 million nationwide initiative to expand the union’s influence in the auto industry, particularly in non-union automakers like Toyota and Tesla. This recognition in Tennessee marks a significant victory for the UAW, which has made strides in organizing workers at Southern manufacturing facilities.
In April, 4,300 workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, plant became the first Southern autoworkers outside of the Detroit Three to secure union representation. However, not all efforts have been successful; workers at a Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama voted against unionization shortly after. Despite this, the UAW remains focused on growing its presence, with more than 30% of employees at a Hyundai plant in Alabama and a Toyota auto parts factory in Missouri indicating their desire to join the union.
