Ford and its joint venture partner SK On will raise pay at two EV battery plants built in Tennessee and Kentucky to appease protesting autoworkers. That gift might not be sufficient.
According to the joint venture, known as BlueOval SK, maintenance technicians and associate maintenance technicians will receive better pay, with hourly rates ranging from $24 to $37.50, depending on expertise. These positions are now open at the BlueOval SK battery factories in Glendale, Kentucky, and Stanton, Tennessee. According to BlueOval SK, a salary and benefit benchmarking analysis was performed to assess employee compensation and benefits. According to BlueOvalSK, hourly workers will be qualified for regular salary raises every six months and bonuses of up to 5% annually, depending on their job and performance.
According to Neva McGruder Burke, director of human resources at BlueOval SK, “these new, higher wages are more competitive and in line with the current market.”
The United Auto Workers and GM, Ford, and Stellantis have made progress toward an agreement, with the union securing wage hikes between 20% and 23%, guaranteed cost-of-living increases, and even negotiating a quicker path for temporary workers to achieve full-time status—a major sticking point. Ford’s Kentucky Truck Plant was included in the UAW’s strike on Monday after the carmaker “came to the table with the same offer they submitted to us two weeks ago,” according to a statement from the union. There was an instant and forceful reaction because it was an undesirable action.
The UAW wants the four-year master agreement with automakers to include current and prospective joint venture EV battery plants, one of the last hurdles holding up a settlement.
It’s a concession that GM has already given to the UAW. Last week, GM agreed to include the manufacture of electric vehicle batteries in the union’s national master agreement with the corporation, according to UAW President Shawn Fain.
“For months, we have been told that this is not possible. The EV industry’s future has been claimed to involve a price war. In a video posted live on Facebook on October 6, Fain declared, “We called their bluff. “It cannot be overstated what this will signify for our membership. The idea was to shutter engine and transmission factories and replace them with long-term, low-paying battery positions. We had another strategy. And our strategy is succeeding at GM. Additionally, we anticipate it will triumph at Ford and Stellantis.
