Divya Nimmagadda is a student at Harvard Law School.
A majority of workers at the Ultium Cells battery plant in Tennessee signed union authorization cards to unionize under the United Auto Workers. Ultium Cells is a joint venture by General Motors (GM) and LG Energy to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles. As part of the new contract UAW won after its 2023 strike against GM, the company agreed to voluntary recognition of a union, without an election, at any of the Ultium plants if sufficient workers signed authorization cards. Ultium also has plants in Michigan and Ohio, and workers at the latter location voted to join UAW back in 2022. This has been part of the union’s strategy to ensure that “heads of the big three domestic producers do not use the transition to electric vehicles to move away from UAW representation at all of their production facilities.” The union finalized a contract with the Ohio location in June, and the new agreement includes a wage increase for production workers from $15 to $35 by October 2027, along with a bonus and other health and safety improvements.
It seems as though President Biden will soon announce that he is going to block Nippon Steel’s acquisition of Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel. President Biden and Vice President Harris have both voiced opposition to the deal. Some think their opposition is linked with an attempt to gain support from the United Steelworkers union given the upcoming election and Pennsylvania’s status as a swing state. Though Nippon Steel has stated that there would be no layoffs or plant closures resulting from the acquisition, union leaders have expressed skepticism about the claim given loopholes in the deal. U.S. Steel released a statement claiming that blocking the transaction will put “thousands of good-paying union jobs at risk…[and] raise serious questions about U.S. Steel remaining headquartered in Pittsburgh.”
Daily News & Commentary
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September 6
Harris to meet with Teamsters; AT&T makes offer to striking workers.
September 5
Workers unionize at Tennessee battery plant and President Biden poised to block acquisition of U.S. Steel.
September 4
Port workers meet to discuss potential strike strategy; and AT&T workers enter the third week of their strike.
September 3
10,000 hotel workers go on strike; Harris hosts Labor Day rallies focused on wooing union members.
September 2
Americans celebrate Labor Day while the two Presidential candidates continue their efforts to court labor; the California Legislature considers several labor and employment measures; Israel’s largest union leads a general strike to pressure the government to make a ceasefire-hostage deal in Gaza
September 1
Hotel employees strike; Amazon's union election challenge fails; report shows huge growth in graduate student unions.