The United Auto Workers union announced Monday that it had reached a tentative contract agreement at an Ohio plant that makes electric vehicle batteries, what the union called a landmark step toward improving wages and safety in the electric vehicle supply chain.
The agreement covers 1,600 workers at the Lordstown plant run by Altium Cells, a joint venture between General Motors and South Korean partner LG Energy Solution, which makes batteries for GM's electric vehicles.
Workers were not unionized when the plant opened in 2022, but joined the UAW under the terms of a national contract the union negotiated with GM last fall. The new contract, which must be approved by plant workers, stipulates wages and working conditions specific to the location.
In a letter to union members, UAW President Sean Fain called the agreement “a game-changing deal for the electric vehicle battery industry.”
GM and Altium issued statements saying they were pleased with the agreement.
The union said it plans to use the Ultium Cells contract as a template when negotiating local agreements at other battery factories being built by GM and its Detroit rivals. GM began production at a battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, this year and is building another in Lansing, Michigan.
Ford Motor Co. plans to build two battery plants in Kentucky, one in Tennessee and one in Michigan. Stellantis, maker of Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge and Ram cars, is planning two battery plants in Indiana. With the exception of Ford's one plant, the plants are joint ventures under the UAW umbrella under national contracts the union signed with Ford and Stellantis last fall.
Altium Cells' contract calls for workers to earn $30.50 an hour, with wages rising to $35 an hour over three years. A national contract signed last fall raised Altium Cells' starting wage to $26.91 an hour, up from $16.50 an hour when the plant opened.
That's slightly lower than what's being paid at GM auto plants, where most workers are expected to make a maximum of $40 an hour or more over the next few years.
Altium Cells' contract also requires the plant to employ four UAW members as full-time safety officers and one full-time industrial hygiene officer. The union and Altium workers have expressed concerns about working with high-voltage electricity and potentially harmful compounds used in making EV battery packs.
The Ohio plant holds special significance because it is located next to GM's shuttered Lordstown auto plant, which once employed thousands of workers.
After GM permanently closed the Lordstown plant in 2019, the company drew criticism from President Donald J. Trump, and the plight of laid-off workers was featured in the 2020 election campaign.
Meanwhile, the UAW said about 200 workers who formerly worked at the Lordstown plant but have since taken jobs at other GM locations will soon be transferred to the Altium Cells plant so they can return to the area. About 40 workers will start there next week, followed by other groups of about 40 over the next few weeks, according to a union spokesman.