By Nora Eckert
DETROIT (Reuters) -The United Auto Workers union is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election at a Kentucky battery plant run by a Ford Motor joint venture, the union said in a release Wednesday.
The BlueOval SK plant, owned by a partnership of South Korea’s SK On and Ford, is the latest battery battleground for the union as it seeks to grow its decreasing membership and secure jobs as the industry electrifies.
A representative for BlueOval SK said most workers at the battery facility have not yet been hired, and called the union’s petition “premature.”
“None of our team members have had the opportunity to see how our plant will operate since we have not yet begun production,” the statement said.
“The UAW is trying to rush BlueOval SK into unionization before our full workforce has the opportunity to make a truly free and informed choice.”
UAW President Shawn Fain has sought to expand on a historic win last year at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee. The labor group has not won a significant vote since, suffering a defeat at a Mercedes plant in Alabama in May.