The joint venture is building battery plants in Kentucky and Tennessee capable of collectively producing more than 120 gigawatt hours annually.
“Not only is the federal government not using its power to turn the tide – they’re actively funding the race to the bottom with billions in public money,” the UAW said.
Ford on Friday said it “expects that BlueOval SK will pay competitive wages and benefits to attract and retain the workforce needed to build high-tech batteries” and added that workers “will be able to choose whether they organize, a right that Ford fully respects and supports.”
The White House said Biden and UAW are working toward the same goal — “to ensure the future of the auto industry is made here in America, with good-paying, union jobs … The president respects the UAW for working hard for the interests of the working people they represent, and the president will keep working hard toward that goal as well.”
In April, the UAW and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders criticized a General Motors-LG Energy Solution joint venture battery plant for paying workers much less than GM assembly plant employees even though it benefits from hefty U.S. government tax credits.
Workers at the Warren, Ohio, JV Ultium Cells plant start at $16.50 an hour rising to $20 an hour after seven years while union workers at a nearby Ohio GM assembly plant that closed in 2019 made $32 an hour or more.
Last year, the department awarded $2.5 billion to help finance construction of Ultium’s new lithium-ion battery plants, including Warren.
In May, the UAW said it was not yet endorsing Biden for reelection citing his electric vehicle policies.
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