Tag Archive for: blue oval sk

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After Enduring Months of Union-Busting Tactics to Undermine NLRB Vote, BlueOval SK Workers Deliver Petition Demanding Ford Recognize UAW and Negotiate Future of Glendale

On Wednesday, workers at BlueOval SK delivered a petition with over 1,000 signatures to the company’s corporate offices in Elizabethtown, demanding that Ford Motor Company recognize the union – and meet with the workers to negotiate over the future of the site.

In August, workers voted in favor of unionizing the joint venture in Kentucky. The company spent months fighting to undermine the results of the NLRB election until December – just before Christmas – when they informed over 1,600 workers that their jobs would be terminated on February 14. Meanwhile, the NLRB ruled against the company’s challenges to the vote, determining that the union at BlueOval SK be certified and recognized by the company.

“It’s time for Ford to do the right thing by BlueOval SK workers, recognize the union, and sit down to negotiate the future of Glendale,” said the UAW’s Ford Department Vice President Laura Dickerson. “As a legacy UAW company for over eighty years, this is a disappointing choice from Ford. Our union is going to stand up and fight for the more than 1,600 livelihoods this company is upending without any second thought.”

“We voted for a union at BlueOval SK because we wanted to have a voice,” said Brittany Diprisco, a Quality Operator in Cell Assembly at the plant. “That fight hasn’t changed. This is still about coming together with our coworkers to have a say in our future.”

“Despite this company fighting hard to undermine the results of the workers’ union election, when it was all said and done, the Board ruled in our favor,” said UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith. “These workers are UAW members – end of story. It’s time for Ford to meet with us to negotiate the future of this plant in Glendale. Who are we? U-A-W!”

With over $250 million in state subsidies alone, workers and community supporters are calling on Ford to live up to the promise of good, stable jobs made when Kentucky agreed to give them taxpayer money to build the Glendale facility.

Photos and videos from today’s petition delivery are available for use by the media here.

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In New Video, BlueOval SK Workers Link Union Drive to Ford Workers’ 20th-Century Fight for Safety

GLENDALE, KY—Today, the UAW released a powerful new video featuring BlueOval SK workers calling for a union to win a real voice on the job, especially when it comes to their health and safety. The video ties the effort by workers at Ford Motor Company who pushed for safer factories nearly a century ago to the high stakes fight today as workers at its joint venture battery plant in Kentucky gear up for an NLRB election in a few weeks.

The new video, “BlueOval SK Union Drive Echoes Workers’ Historic Safety Fight at Ford” is available for use by the media here.

After months of an aggressive union-busting campaign driven by the company, production and maintenance workers at BlueOval SK, Ford’s joint venture battery plant in Glendale, Kentucky, will finally have their chance to vote in a union election on August 26 and 27. The vote will be conducted by the NLRB, with ballots counted starting at 8 p.m. on August 27.

In the video, BOSK workers connect their fight for basic protections today to the UAW’s historic fight at Ford to make auto plants safer in the 20th century. “It’s our time to sit across the table from management as equals,” narrates several BOSK workers in the new video. “We want a legally binding contract that guarantees our wages, health care, PTO policies, and health and safety.

“Workers in Michigan began a wave that changed America,” the video’s narration continues. “Battery workers in Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana have already taken this step and won. Now, it’s our turn.”

Currently, BlueOval SK is the only battery plant involving the Big Three that is non-union. GM’s Ultium plants in Ohio and Tennessee already operate under a UAW contract, and Stellantis’ StarPlus Energy plant in Indiana joined the union and ratified their local agreement earlier this year.

“A supermajority of BOSK workers filed for this election back in January because they were done with broken promises and unsafe working conditions. They were done being left out of decisions that impact their health and their futures,” said UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith. “Just like Ford workers in the 30s and 40s, these workers are seeking safer working conditions, the affordable health care they were originally assured, and a voice on the job. They’re ready to get it.”

Kentucky taxpayers have poured millions of public dollars into this plant, and workers have expressed they should have a fair shot at choosing their union. Every elected official in Kentucky who claims to stand on the side of the working-class should look at BOSK right now to see what courage looks like.

Despite illegally firing and retaliating against union supporters and holding unlawful closed-door meetings to intimidate workers, the company has not stopped BOSK workers from moving forward. Workers remain determined to vote for a union and have a voice on the job.

Full transcript of the newly released UAW video featuring BlueOval SK workers ahead of their union election this month: 

[Narrated by several different workers from BlueOvalSK in Glendale]

In 1941, Ford auto workers changed history.

Facing workplace injuries, exhaustion, and deaths on the job, Ford workers took a stand that would echo generations. 

They came together and organized and—as United Auto Workers—won the right to negotiate for all of their working conditions. 

This history is not just a source of pride; it’s a lesson in solidarity to show what’s possible when working class people stand together. 

Today, Kentucky is the center of the battery belt. We’re building the future of the auto industry, and this transformative moment requires the same worker power that guarantees our safety and job security.

Whether in Dearborn, Michigan or Glendale, Kentucky, the technology may differ, but the risks remain the same. 

Wherever corporate greed puts our lives at risk, the fight for a safe workplace binds us together. 

 It’s our time to sit across the table for management as equals. 

We want a legally binding contract that guarantees our wages, health care, PTO policies, and health and safety. 

Workers in Michigan began a wave that changed America. 

Battery workers in Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana have already taken this step and won. 

Now it’s our turn. 

I’m ready to have a voice at BOSK. 

I’m ready to have a voice at BOSK—as United Auto Workers.

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Statement from UAW VP Chuck Browning on Hazardous Conditions at BlueOval SK

In response to this week’s Louisville Courier-Journal story “Chemicals, mold, bats, broken bones: Workers concerned over safety at BlueOval SK plant,” Chuck Browning, UAW Vice President and Director of the Ford Department, issued the following statement:

“The recent reporting on the dangerous conditions at BOSK is infuriating. Workers are being put at risk every single day. Every person in this country should be able to go to work and know they’ll make it home safe—not get sick or injured because of corporate greed or negligence.

Ford should know better. For over 80 years, Ford workers have had a union and a voice. But now, Ford is running an extreme anti-union campaign at BOSK to keep these workers down. It’s shameful.

These workers are demanding what they’ve earned: a real say in their working conditions, especially when it comes to health and safety. Ford, cut the crap. Let them vote.”

2024 in Review

flsaMore than $1.5 billion in stolen wages recovered for workers between 2021 and 2023

Labor unions are essential in fighting wage theft by promoting workers’ rights and fair pay. They offer resources and collective bargaining power to address issues like unpaid overtime and misclassification. By securing stronger contracts with clear wage terms and educating workers about their rights, unions empower employees to identify and report wage theft. Furthermore, unions advocate for stricter enforcement of labor laws, which helps ensure employer accountability and fosters a more equitable work environment.

A federal legislation known as the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) sets minimum wages, overtime compensation, and rules for child labor. Workers must be paid for all hours worked in accordance with the FLSA. Nonetheless, wage theft by big corporations removes billions of dollars from workers’ paychecks annually. Anytime an employer fails to give employees the money they have earned through their efforts, it is considered wage theft. This can take many different forms, such as paying employees less than the minimum wage or failing to provide overtime compensation to qualified employees who put in more than 40 hours per week. Although wage theft can happen to any worker, it is particularly common among those in low-paying industries. Thankfully, employees can recover their owed earnings under federal and state wage and hour laws.

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Social Media Tends10 Major Social Media Trends in 2025

Effective communication is crucial for labor unions, fostering collaboration, trust, and engagement among members.

You can sustain or increase the success of your local labor communications by keeping up with social media trends. While some social media trends, like memes, might change rapidly, others are more permanent, and you can use these to guide your content schedule and overall social media plan.

As UAW President Shawn Fain stated, “We don’t win by telling workers what to do, what to say, or how to say it. We win by giving working-class people the tools, the inspiration, and the courage to stand up for themselves.” Labor communications give our members the tools and the inspiration to change not only their lives but also help those in our communities by raising the standards.

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Stellantis Council Group PhotoUAW IN THE NEWS — Victory for UAW Workers! Stellantis Recommits, Pledges Billions for Union Jobs

After months of determined efforts, the UAW has secured a major win for American autoworkers! Stellantis has committed billions to honor the 2023 contract promises, including reopening the Belvidere Assembly Plant in 2027 with a new midsize truck and building the next-gen Dodge Durango in Detroit.

These commitments, initially walked back by former leadership, are now being fulfilled thanks to workers standing united.

“This victory is a testament to the power of workers standing together and holding a billion-dollar corporation accountable,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “We’ve shown that we will do what it takes to protect the good union jobs that are the lifeblood of places like Belvidere, Detroit, Kokomo, and beyond.”

Together, we’ve shown that when workers demand accountability, we can achieve real progress.

FULL STORY CLICK HERE

making a better boskUAW IN THE NEWS — Battery Workers at BlueOval SK in Kentucky File for First Major Union Election in the South in 2025

Battery workers across the country are organizing to join the UAW and raise standards across the industry. Last year, workers at GM’s joint venture Ultium in Spring Hill joined our union just months after their coworkers in Lordstown won a breakthrough first contract.

Workers at Ford are close behind.

A supermajority of workers at battery maker BlueOval SK filed a petition Tuesday with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to form their union with the UAW. The election filing at BlueOval SK (BOSK), a new joint venture of Ford and SK On, is the first major filing in the South in 2025 and continues the movement of Southern autoworkers organizing with the UAW.

“We’re forming our union so we can have a say in our safety and our working conditions,” said Halee Hadfield, a quality operator at BOSK. “The chemicals we’re working with can be extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong, a massive explosion can occur. With our union, we can speak up if we see there’s a problem and make sure we’re keeping ourselves and the whole community safe.”

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UAW YEAR IN REVIEW 2024

2024 was a big year for UAW members. From auto workers winning their union at Volkswagen in Chattanooga to thousands of higher education workers organizing across the country, our members are standing up to the boss and winning! And we’re just getting started.

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