By Michael Elkins
Wednesday marks the beginning of a two-day voting process for for 900 workers at the Ultium Cells plant in Lordstown as they decide if they want to join the United Autoworkers Union. Ultium cells, a joint venture between General Motors (NYSE:GM) and LG Solutions to make batteries to power GM electric vehicles such as the Cadillac Lyriq SUV.
The United States Labor Relations Board scheduled voting sessions on Wednesday, December 7 from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. and again on December 8 at the same times.
This voting comes after months of efforts from Ultium Cells workers to unionize. In August, 85% of Ultium Cells workers signed union authorization cards. 94% of workers have voted to strike should General Motors not recognize them as a union.
“If they can show that the workers there trust the union, then other battery plants may have more pressure to follow suit,” said Art Wheaton, a labor professor at the Worker Institute at Cornell University.
Joint venture battery facilities are viewed as crucial for the UAW to grow and add members, as automakers such as GM transition to electric vehicles, which require less traditional labor and parts than cars with internal combustion engines.
Shares of GM are up 0.45% in mid-day trading on Wednesday.