Workers at the General Motors Co. and LG Energy Solution joint-venture Ultium Cells LLC battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, are joining the United Auto Workers, the union said Wednesday.

A majority of the 1,000 workers at the plant — the second such Ultium Cells facility in the country — signed cards to join the UAW and the company agreed to recognize the union, the UAW said in a press release.

Ensuring new and coming Detroit Three joint-venture battery plants were represented by the union and included in the union's master agreements with the companies was a sticking point in last year's UAW talks. GM, the only automaker with a battery plant operating at the time, agreed to bring Ultium in the master agreement.

“This is a great day for Ultium workers and for every worker in Tennessee and the South,” said Trudy Lindahl, a worker at Ultium in Spring Hill, in a statement provided by the UAW. “Southern workers are ready to stand up and win our fair share by winning our unions. And when we have a free and fair choice, we will win every time.”

In a statement, Ultium Cells spokesperson Katie Burdette confirmed the company recognized the UAW as the official union representing hourly employees.

"This recognition follows a previously agreed-upon and independently certified process that was completed on Tuesday, September 3, 2024," Burdette said. "We believe this will support the continuity of operations, drive innovation, and enhance world-class manufacturing, further contributing to economic development in Tennessee."

Battery cell production for GM's electric vehicles started this year at the Spring Hill plant, which is located next to the EV and internal combustion engine vehicle assembly facility where the Cadillac Lyriq EV and the gas-powered XT5 and XT6 SUVs are built. It's the second battery plant in the United States to be organized by the UAW. The first is located in Warren, Ohio, next to the former Lordstown Assembly plant GM closed in 2019. The Ultium Cells Warren location opened in 2022. Workers organized with the union in December 2022 and are represented by UAW Local 1112.

Workers at the Warren plant in June approved a four-year local agreement that came with a $3,000 bonus, wage increases and enhanced health and safety protocols. That contract "sets a powerful precedent for Spring Hill and for the tens of thousands of new battery jobs that will be coming online soon," the UAW said.

The UAW contracts with Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV create a pathway for unionization at Ford's battery plant in mid-Michigan's Marshall opening in 2026 and Stellantis' Kokomo, Indiana, battery plants with Samsung SDI slated to open in 2025 and 2027. Ford's contract does not specify a pathway to unionization for future workers at three joint-venture battery plants with SK ON in Tennessee and Kentucky with the first one opening in 2025.

GM and Ultium Cells have a third battery plant in Delta Township near Lansing that's slated to be operational next year. GM is also planning a battery plant with Samsung that will open in 2027, a year later than originally planned.

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