US labor union flexes muscles against Korean battery makers

Tim Smith, UAW Region 8 director, speaks during a press conference at the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) headquarters in Seoul, July 8. Courtesy of KMWU

The United Auto Workers' (UAW) recent deployment of its leaders to Korea has signaled that union influence could become stronger in regards to joint ventures between Korean battery manufacturers and U.S. carmakers.

Last week, the American trade union representing workers in the automotive industry met the unions of Samsung SDI and WCP to discuss the unionization of workers in the battery sector.

“The UAW explained how Ultium Cells, a joint venture between LG Energy Solution and General Motors, achieved its goal through the 2023 ‘stand-up strike,’” the Korean Metal Workers' Union (KMWU) said.

“As a result of the protest, Ultium Cells agreed not only to adopt the UAW standard agreement but also to continue hiring workers at a closed GM plant.”

The UAW secured union recognition at Ultium Cells' Ohio plant in 2022 and its Tennessee plant in 2024. Earlier this year, StarPlus Energy, a joint venture between Samsung SDI and Stellantis, recognized the UAW as the union representing workers at its Indiana factory.

In solidarity with the militant KMWU, the UAW appears to be ramping up pressure on BlueOval SK, the joint venture between SK On and Ford Motor, which remains the only union-free company among the joint ventures between Korean battery manufacturers and U.S. automakers.

Despite the Donald Trump administration’s tariff policies creating conflicting interests between the two organizations, the KMWU and the UAW signed a memorandum of understanding on July 8, pledging mutual support in the event of attacks on unions or workers by government or capital.

“Big companies from South Korea, Japan, Germany and Sweden have built nonunion plants in the South. They came here for one reason: to keep unions out and wages low,” UAW Region 8 Director Tim Smith said during the signing ceremony.

BlueOval SK is currently at odds with the UAW over unionization at its Kentucky plant.

Alleging that management is running an anti-union campaign to intimidate workers, the UAW recently called for an investigation into whether the company violated federal labor laws. BlueOval SK responded by calling the UAW’s move a legal maneuver aimed at blocking a worker vote on joining the union.

“We are disappointed by the dishonest tactic of the UAW in stalling a timely and fair election at BlueOval SK's Kentucky 1 plant,” BlueOval SK Senior Communications Manager Mallory Cooke said in a statement earlier this month.