Nearly 1,000 members of United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 1853 have voted to ratify their first local agreement with Ultium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solution, marking a major milestone in the growing push for unionization in electric vehicle (EV) battery production.
The agreement builds on the national contract that Ultium workers secured as a key victory of the 2023 Stand Up Strike, ensuring that employees manufacturing EV batteries receive wages, health care and job protections comparable to their counterparts in traditional auto manufacturing.
“When we voted to join UAW, I knew it would be a big deal. Now, I don’t have to worry about losing my job out of nowhere or going broke from a medical emergency,” said Derrick Kinzer, a worker at the Spring Hill, TN, plant and bargaining team member.
The contract establishes a new standard for battery plant workers, a sector that is rapidly expanding alongside the automotive industry’s transition to electric vehicles.
“We now have our healthcare costs covered, just like General Motors workers,” said Barry Hope, another bargaining team member. “My benefits are guaranteed in writing, ensuring financial security for my family and access to necessary care when we need it most.”
UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith called on other major automakers, including Volkswagen, to follow suit.
“Building EV batteries is just as risky as working with combustion engines, and these workers deserve the best wages, health care and safety protections as they have in the Big Three,” Smith said. “Ultium workers stood strong and won their fight. Now it’s time for Volkswagen -- an even bigger, richer company -- to quit dragging its feet and do right by its workers in Chattanooga with fair pay and fully paid health insurance.”
The ratification comes amid a wave of unionization efforts in the South, with more than 5,000 autoworkers in Tennessee joining the UAW in the past year.
“Ultium workers are setting the bar for Southern workers and charting a brighter future,” Smith said. “From Georgia to Kentucky to Texas, folks in these new EV plants know they deserve fair pay and benefits, just like union workers before them. And you can bet the UAW is going to stand with them to make sure they get their fair share and a collective voice on the job.”
