DETROIT (AP) — About 1,000 workers at a General Motors joint venture electric vehicle battery plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, will get big pay raises now that they have joined the United Auto Workers union.
GM and LG Energy Solution of Korea, which jointly run the plant, agreed to recognize the union after a majority of workers signed cards saying they wanted to join, the UAW said Wednesday.
Both sides will bargain over local contract provisions, but worker pay and other details will fall under the UAW national contract negotiated last fall, the union said in a prepared statement. Starting pay which was $20 per hour will rise to a minimum of $27.72. Over three years, minimum production worker pay will rise to $30.88, the contract says.
The joint venture, Ultium Cells LLC, said in a release that the union recognition came after an independently certified process that ended Tuesday. “We believe this will support the continuity of operations, drive innovation, and enhance world-class manufacturing,” the release said.