UAW says workers at GM battery plants will be covered by contract

As the autoworkers’ union grapples with the big three automakers for a contract, it expands its coverage to electric vehicle workers

Workers at General Motors’ electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities will be protected by the company’s national contract with the United Auto Workers (UAW), the union’s president, Shawn Fain, announced last week.

It’s a landmark victory in the fight for a “just transition” away from fossil fuels which prioritizes labor rights, boosting hope that workers in legacy vehicle manufacturers’ EV divisions – and across the country’s burgeoning electric vehicle sector – will have the same protections that US autoworkers have historically enjoyed.