Workers at Kentucky electric vehicle battery production complex start drive to unionize WSOC TV [Video]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — (AP) — Workers hired for a sprawling electric vehicle battery production complex in Kentucky have launched a campaign to join the United Auto Workers as the union tries to expand its foothold in the South and among battery factories, the UAW said Wednesday.

The BlueOval SK complex at Glendale is a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and its South Korean partner, SK On, to produce batteries for Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles. The nearly $6 billion battery park — about an hour south of Louisville — is gearing up to start manufacturing in 2025.

The union said a supermajority of workers at BlueOval SK have signed union authorization cards to launch the public campaign to join the UAW.

The union will need to seek an election run by the National Labor Relations Board to organize workers at the two-plant complex in Kentucky. So far it has …