Ultium Cells to hike worker wages 30 percent under new union agreement

Ultium Cells and the United Auto Workers Union reached an agreement to raise employee wages by 30 percent at the joint venture's Lordstown, Ohioo plant over the next three years.

Ultium Cells employees work at its battery manufacturing plant in Lordstown, Ohio. Ultium Cells is a 50:50 joint battery venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

Ultium Cells, a joint battery venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors, and the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) reached a tentative agreement to raise employee wages by 30 percent.

Under the new contract — which covers around 1,600 UAW members employed at Ultium Cells' plant in Lordstown, Ohio — wages will rise to $35 an hour over the next three years. The agreement will be finalized after a full vote of the workers.

The agreement came a year after the parties initially resolved to raise wages by 25 percent last August.

Employees of Ultium Cells' Ohio plant joined the UAW in Dec. 2022.

“Eighteen months ago, this company was on a low road path to poverty wages, unsafe conditions, and a dark future for battery workers in America,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “Ultium workers said, ‘Hell no,’ got organized, and fought back. Now, they’ve more than doubled their wages by the end of this contract, won record health and safety language and showed the world what it means to win a just transition.”

Ultium Cells has three plants in the United States, located in Ohio, Tennessee and Michigan. The Ohio and Tennessee plants have been making batteries for General Motors EVs including the Cadillac Lyriq. The Michigan plant is under construction with the goal of starting mass production in 2025.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]