Workers at the massive Ford battery plants under construction in Glendale, Kentucky, launched a public campaign Wednesday to unionize.
A supermajority of workers at the BlueOval SK plants said they signed authorization cards to join the United Auto Workers, according to a news release Wednesday from the UAW.
UAW said in a news release Wednesday that hourly pay for BlueOval SK workers currently starts at $21 an hour, whereas UAW production workers at other Ford plants start at $26.32. After three years, that number jumps to more than $42 an hour.
Earlier this year, Governor Andy Beshear said on “Face the Nation on CBS” that workers at the Glendale plants wouldn’t be part of a union, citing an agreement between Ford and the UAW. He said it means that Ford’s more than 10,000 UAW workers in other facilities in Kentucky got better wages and benefits but the agreement is an outcome both sides are happy about.
It is unclear what has changed since that agreement between Ford and UAW.
BlueOval SK’s first battery plant is on track to open in 2025, but equipment, hiring and production are indefinitely delayed at the second factory. However, Kentucky’s deal gives BlueOval SK until the end of 2030 to reach the full 5,000-job target for the battery campus.
Source: WDRB
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