{"id":3937,"date":"2023-09-19T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/?p=3937"},"modified":"2023-10-06T20:01:09","modified_gmt":"2023-10-06T20:01:09","slug":"ev-transition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uniontrack.com\/blog\/ev-transition","title":{"rendered":"Joint Ventures and Scab Workers: How the EV Transition is Challenging Unions"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Ken Green
CEO & Founder
UnionTrack<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strong automotive unions are a legacy of the labor movement in the U.S. These unions have ensured highly-skilled automotive workers are prioritized and protected in an industry that is always evolving. Given the every-changing nature of the industry, this hasn\u2019t always been easy.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest obstacle confronting industry unions in their mission to represent workers is the transition to the electric vehicle (EV) and how to guarantee union protections for workers at new EV plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile the shift to electric vehicles represents an opportunity for improvement on numerous environmental fronts, it also represents a potential catastrophe for the economic well-being of many working people,\u201d warns Paul Prescod<\/a>, a socialist, teacher, and contributing editor at Jacobin magazine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It falls to unions to prevent such disaster, and the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW) \u2014 the largest industry union \u2014 is trying to draw a line in the sand as planned EV plants begin operations. There’s \u201cno excuse\u201d for automakers setting up nonunion EV shops, asserts UAW President Shawn Fain<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But holding that line isn\u2019t easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Manufacturing<\/figure>\n\n\n\n 

UAW: Cover New EV Facilities by Master Contract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As they transition to manufacturing EVs, the big three automakers in the U.S. are opening new facilities for the production of these vehicles. Thousands of workers will be employed, but (if the companies have their way) without the protections of the current labor agreements between the UAW and the major U.S. automakers: Ford, GM, and Stellantis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s because these facilities are actually joint ventures between the \u201cbig three\u201d automakers and other companies. As such, management believes workers at each facility have to vote on joining the union and negotiate separate contracts for each facility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The UAW sees it differently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Union leadership is \u201cpushing for a \u2018just transition<\/a>\u2019 to electric vehicles (EVs) for auto workers, which includes the battery plants,\u201d reports the BNN Newsroom team<\/a>. In other words, every factory that opens would be covered by the national collective bargaining agreement. The coverage would help the union stay strong during this tumultuous time, and guarantee workers fair wages and safe working conditions as the new facilities open.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Issue of Pay in New EV Plants is Already Contentious<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Without the protection of a union contract, workers at the EV plants will earn less than those who work at traditional assembly plants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Company executives argue that workers at EV plants should be paid less because they are doing work typically done by workers at third-party suppliers, says CNBC auto reporter Michael Wayland<\/a>. These third-party workers make less than the traditional assembly workers who work for the automakers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers at an Ultium Cells battery manufacturing plant in Warren, Ohio, recognized this injustice. They voted to organize with the UAW in December 2022. In doing so, they created the \u201cfirst formal union at a major American electric vehicle or component factory not wholly owned by a Detroit automaker,\u201d reports Ryan Erik King<\/a>, a staff writer at Jalopnik.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a major victory for both the workers and the union. For the workers, it demonstrated their resolve to demand fair treatment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs the auto industry transitions to electric vehicles, new workers entering the auto sector at plants like Ultium are thinking about their value and worth,\u201d said then-UAW President Ray Curry<\/a>. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the UAW, the win gives them some leverage to carry into current contract negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

UAW Negotiating to Wrap EV Facilities Into New Contract<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

EV plant workers want to be unionized. That\u2019s one critical message UAW leadership is taking into the contract talks for the new collective bargaining agreement. The old contract is set to expire on September 14, 2023, and the two sides have until then to reach an agreement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One key area of contention is whether or not the EV plant workers should be covered by the national contract.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no doubt these workers need a contract. Workers at the Ultium plant can earn up to $22 an hour while workers at assembly plants covered by a union contract earn more than $30 per hour, notes Carscoops editor Brad Anderson<\/a>. There has also been twice the average rate of accidents at the battery plant, with 22 workers suffering injuries, reports Anderson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, if and until the master contract issue is resolved, the UAW is simultaneously negotiating a first contract with GM for the Ultium workers and the new contract. This division of assets puts a strain on union resources at a time when it should be funneling everything to win a favorable master contract. But the union is digging in to fight on all fronts at this pivotal moment for the automotive workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA new industry is being born,\u201d says Shawn Fain<\/a>. \u201cThis is our defining moment. Our communities and our country deserve good, safe, living-wage union jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"UAW<\/figure>\n\n\n\n 

UAW Negotiates a Favorable Contract for Battery Plant Workers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In May 2023, after rejecting two tentative contract agreements, over 500 workers at the Clarios automobile battery manufacturing plant in Holland, Ohio, went on strike. The strike is to protest the company\u2019s demands for a concessionary contract that would cut pay for workers. The Clarios strike made waves across the industry because of the production capacity at that facility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the company\u2019s website<\/a>, the plant produces batteries for electric vehicles, hybrids, and internal combustion engines, supplying batteries for nearly one-third of the vehicles on the road. Given that, workers feel they have earned better pay and benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne of the problems is it’s a concessionary contract,\u201d said UAW Local 12 President Bruce Baumhower<\/a> when the workers went on strike. \u201cToday’s economy is strong and our members have taken concessions when the economy wasn’t. They want a fair contract and the company isn’t willing. We’re not going backwards in today’s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courtney Smith<\/a>, a staff organizer at Labor Notes, explains some of those major concessions the company was pushing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n