Buckeye Reporter

WARREN, OH – U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today joined members of United Autoworkers (UAW) Local 1112 to fight for higher wages, a safe workplace, and union representation with a fair contract for workers at the Ultium battery plant in Warren.

Brown has been outspoken in pushing Ultium to raise wages for workers and agree to a contract that honors the Dignity of Work and can serve as a model for the industry. In late July, Brown called on the big three auto companies, General Motors, Stellantis, and Ford Motor Company, to negotiate in good faith to reach a fair outcome that ensures that workers at all joint venture electric vehicle battery facilities have the benefits provided by a UAW contract. Last week Ultium took the long overdue step of agreeing to raise wages for workers by 25 percent and provide thousands of dollars in back pay. This weekend, Ultium workers approved that agreement to immediately raise wages by a vote of 895 to 22.

“We are laying down a marker: the auto jobs of the future must be union jobs,” said Brown. “Ultium needs to agree to a fair contract that honors the Dignity of Work, and recognizes that workers drive the auto industry’s success. The cars of the future will be made in Ohio, by union workers, and we’re not going to settle for anything less.”

“Today is a great day for UAW 1112 members at Ultium. Thanks to the Local Union Bargaining Team, our members will receive well-deserved financial relief from the poverty wages they were making. The struggle is real, and the fight is not over until these workers are brought up to traditional autoworker standards,” said UAW Region 2B Director David Green. “Senator Sherrod Brown has been supporting these workers from day one.  It is great to have him here today listening to our members. Senator Brown has always stood by all workers. He understands that our members’ issues are real and takes the time to hear and understand them. When we work together, we win.”

In December, workers at the Ultium Cells battery plant in Warren, Ohio voted 710 to 16 to unionize as part of the UAW. The Ultium facility in Ohio, together with the Michigan and Tennessee plants, will create 11,000 jobs—6,000 in construction jobs and 5,100 in clean-energy manufacturing.

Original source can be found here.