U.A.W. Seeks Union Election at Ford Battery Plant in Kentucky

The United Auto Workers union is seeking approval from federal labor regulators for a union election among workers at a Ford Motor battery plant in Kentucky, a major test of union strength following the election of Donald Trump.

The union asked the National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday to allow workers at the new plant in Glendale, about 55 miles south of Louisville, to vote on whether they want to join the UAW. The plant, expected to begin production this year, is a joint venture between Ford and South Korean battery company SK On.

The UAW said in a statement that the “vast majority” of workers at the plant signed cards expressing their desire to join the union.

“We want to be able to come together with management and have a say in how the business is run,” said Bill Wilmot, a production worker at the Glendale plant who helped lead the organizing drive. “We need the opportunity to negotiate a contract.”

A vote to join the UAW would make it more likely that workers employed at Ford’s two other battery plants will also become union members. These plants – one in Kentucky and another in Tennessee – are under construction and are also joint ventures between Ford and SK.

BlueOval SK, as the business is known, said the UAW’s election petition was “premature” because the factory had not yet completed recruiting workers.

“The UAW is trying to push BlueOval SK to unionize before our entire workforce has had the opportunity to make a truly free and informed choice,” BlueOval SK said in a statement. “And none of our team members have had the opportunity to see how our plant will operate because we haven’t started production yet.”

The union election will take place after Mr. Trump becomes president and perhaps after his appointees take leadership positions on the labor board. Many labor experts viewed Trump’s appointees as hostile to unions, even during his first term. The Labor Council often ruled in favor of employers rather than unions.

During the 2024 election campaign, tensions grew between the UAW and Trump. Union President Sean Fein has been a vocal advocate for Vice President Kamala Harris and has often criticized Trump, calling him a “scab” and saying union workers would see much more progress under a Harris administration. However, significant numbers of UAW members supported Trump in Michigan and Wisconsin.

Under President Biden, the UAW has enjoyed enthusiastic support from the White House. Mr. Biden has publicly defended unions and appeared at a UAW picket line when the auto union called a strike against three major Michigan automakers—General Motors, Ford and Stellantis—in 2023.

After securing significant increases in wages and benefits from the three companies, the UAW began a campaign to organize nonunion auto plants in the South. He won the vote at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tenn., but lost another at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama.

A vote for BlueOval SK would give the UAW another victory in the South and could give the union momentum to vote on other battery plants that have recently begun production or are being built across the country.

The UAW has already organized workers at the GM-LG Energy Solution battery joint venture. The joint venture has plants in Warren, Ohio and Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Stellantis, the maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles, is building battery plants in Indiana, which the UAW also hopes to establish.

GM and LG had plans to build a third battery plant in Lansing, Michigan, but GM is looking to sell its stake in that under-construction plant to LG.