Barra says GM offered to put Ultium plants 'under scope' of UAW master agreement

General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra confirmed Tuesday that the automaker has made an offer to the United Auto Workers that would put the Ultium Cells LLC joint-venture battery plants "under the scope of the master agreement" the automaker has with the union.

Barra made the acknowledgement during the third-quarter earnings call with investors, a few weeks after the UAW announced that GM had agreed to include its battery plant workers under the master agreement with GM.

GM has only one operating Ultium plant with partner LG Energy Solution. Workers at that northeast Ohio plant voted to organize with the UAW in December 2022. While they've received wage increases, they are still waiting for an inaugural contract.

GM and LG are planning to operate two other battery plants together. A Spring Hill, Tennessee, plant will open early next year followed by another plant in the Lansing area.

Barra said Ultium leadership is negotiating with the UAW to have its own agreement but GM "did put an offer on the table that would put Ultium Cells under the scope of the master agreement."

She added: "We believed at the time that it would allow for, which it must have, benchmark economics and also operating flexibility because the battery cell plant is very different than some of the traditional operations ... at this point, that offer remains open but the focus is on Ultium getting their own agreement."

The comments were made on day 40 of the UAW's national simultaneous strike against the automaker and its crosstown rivals Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV. On Monday, the union expanded the strike to include Stellantis' Ram 1500 truck plant in Sterling Heights.

UAW President Shawn Fain joined members on Monday to walk to the picket line after the strike expansion.

While there, he was asked by reporters where the battery plant issue stands and said: “It’s dead in the water.” 

He added: “We’ve got a ways to go. We’re working on economics right now. The economic package is what we’re focused on … I don’t want to talk about batteries right now.”

Barra's comment comes after Korean battery partner Samsung SDI recently told The Detroit News that it hadn't been discussing the UAW talks with either GM or Stellantis.

GM in 2026 is opening a battery plant in New Carlisle, Indiana, with Samsung SDI. It's partnered with Stellantis for two plants in Kokomo, Indiana, that will open in 2025 and 2027.

None of the facilities have hired workers, let alone had them unionized, limiting the ability for the battery maker to be involved, according to experts.

khall@detroitnews.com

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bnoble@detroitnews.com

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