Today, the UAW releases “High Risk & Low Pay: A Case Study of Ultium Cells Lordstown,” a white paper that highlights the dangerous working conditions at General Motors’ joint-venture battery cell plant in Lordstown, Ohio. It includes worker testimonials and health & safety research that show the urgent need to raise wages and safety standards in the EV battery industry.

READ THE WHITE PAPER HERE: UAW.org/Ultium

In December 2022, the workers who build electric vehicle batteries for Ultium Cells in Lordstown, Ohio, voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW.

The white paper follows a video released last week, “Our Defining Moment,” featuring the voices of Ultium workers speaking out on the risk of a failed transition to electric vehicles if companies like General Motors continue to pursue a low-road approach. View the video here.

It also follows an independent report by Good Jobs First, “Power Outrage: Will Heavily Subsidized Battery Factories Generate Substandard Jobs?” The report details the immense government subsidies going into the EV battery industry, and how corporate America is using them to drastically lower industry standards for EV workers. Read the report here.

For the full story of the Ultium workers’ fight for justice, visit UAW.org/Ultium

 

HOLLAND, OH – Workers who make vehicle batteries for Clarios in Holland, OH are marking one week on strike for a fair work schedule and against pay cuts, after rejecting the company’s latest offer by an overwhelming 98 percent.

In a letter to the company, US Senator Sherrod Brown wrote “in support of the members of UAW Local 12 who are currently exercising their rights to strike for fair pay they’ve earned.” Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur visited strikers on the picket line, and several other elected officials have publicly shown their support.

On Friday, the company won a temporary injunction limiting supporters to five picketers per gate, even banning livestock after a member rode their horse to the picket line.

“Using the courts as a weapon against working people standing up for their rights is extremely disrespectful,” said UAW Region 2B Director Dave Green. “Clarios doesn’t need a judge to help them end this dispute – they need to come back to the bargaining table with a serious offer that our members can accept.”

Today, Ultium workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of joining the UAW by a vote of 710 to 16 (1 void).

“Our entire union welcomes our latest members from Ultium,” says UAW President Ray Curry. “As the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, new workers entering the auto sector at plants like Ultium are thinking about their value and worth. This vote shows that they want to be a part of maintaining the high standards and wages that UAW members have built in the auto industry.”

“Region 2B has stood with Ultium workers since the moment they said they wanted to form their organizing committees,” adds UAW Region 2B Director Wayne Blanchard. “Their hard work and the support of Region 2B members and staff have led to this powerful victory. Special thanks to the retirees of Local 1112 who would open the hall at any hour to help Ultium workers meet.”

Ultium Cells LLC is a joint venture between General Motors and LG Energy Solutions.