UAW workers ratify Ultium Cells wage agreement in Ohio

Reuters
Sun, August 27, 2023 

FILE PHOTO: UAW President Shawn Fain chairs the 2023 Special Elections Collective Bargaining Convention

(Reuters) - The United Auto Workers (UAW) union at Ultium Cells, a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution in Lordstown, Ohio, on Sunday said members voted in favor by 895 to 22 votes to ratify an interim agreement that immediately raises wages by $3 to $4 an hour.

Earlier this week, General Motors and LG Energy Solution said they will hike the wages of workers at its Ohio plant by an average of 25% after some U.S. senators blasted the facility for paying workers as little as $16 an hour.

The interim wage increase will be retroactive to December 2022 and some workers will receive between $3,000 to $7,000, based on hours worked. The companies had said workers must still ratify the interim wage increase that takes effect Aug. 28.

The UAW also said negotiations for a complete first contract will continue between the union’s elected bargaining committee and Ultium Cells.

UAW President Shawn Fain said the union "will keep fighting at Ultium and all EV plants to win the same strong pay and safety standards that generations of autoworkers have won at GM, Ford and Stellantis ."

On Friday UAW workers voted overwhelmingly in favor of authorizing a strike at the Detroit Three automakers if an agreement is not reached before the current four-year contract expires on Sept. 14.

(Reporting by Gursimran Kaur in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)