The United Auto Workers (UAW) said on Wednesday it was committing $40 million to organizing non-union automobile and EV battery workers in the United States over the next two years.
The UAW had said in November it was launching a first-of-its-kind push to publicly organize the entire non-union auto sector in the U.S. after strikes helped workers win record new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers.
It announced campaigns at 13 non-union automakers, including Tesla, Toyota, Hyundai, Rivian, Nissan, BMW and Mercedes-Benz .
UAW President Shawn Fain has been pushing General Motors, Ford and Chrysler-parent Stellantis to open the doors for the union to organize future battery plant workers as well as raise wages at their respective joint-venture battery plants to match assembly workers’ pay.
In the next few years, the electric-vehicle (EV) battery industry is slated to add tens of thousands of jobs across the country, the UAW said in a statement.
“Through a massive new organizing effort, workers will fight to maintain and raise the standard in the emerging battery industry,” the union said.