BlueOval SK, the partnership between Ford Motor Co. and South Korean-based SK On, has announced wage increases starting Jan. 1 for workers at the electric vehicle battery campus in Hardin County.
The salary increases, ranging from $2.50-$3.50 per hour, apply to operators, maintenance technicians, and associate maintenance technicians at the Glendale factories. Depending on the position, workers would earn $23.50-$32 per hour under the updated wages.
The announcement comes almost a month after workers launched a campaign to join the UAW, which currently represents Ford employees across the U.S.
Professor Ariana Levinson teaches labor and employment law at the University of Louisville. She says the wage increases could run afoul of the National Labor Relations Act.
“Normally if an employer does this, they need to have some past practice of having these types of annual raises that predates an organizing campaign," Levinson told WKU Public Radio. “Employers can neither make threats, take away benefits, make promises, or give benefits in response to unionization campaigns because the idea is that they’re going around the workers.”
Given the unionization effort and the timing of the wage increases, Levinson says the UAW could file an Unfair Labor Practice complaint with the National Labor Relations Board.
BlueOval SK said the raises are aimed at ensuring the company remains competitive with the market.
"The increases for hourly team members come after a careful and lengthy review of comparable compensation and benefits data provided from multiple sources," BlueOval SK HR Director Neva Burke said in an emailed statement.
Levinson says offering raises can be an effective strategy for discouraging organizing efforts. Similar wage increases were offered at Toyota in Georgetown during a failed attempt to unionize in 2023.
In addition to higher pay, some of the Glendale workers are also wanting to join the UAW for safer working conditions. Earlier this year, the state investigated claims of workers being exposed to mold at the construction site. Workers say BlueOval SK isn't providing personal protective equipment when working around hazardous materials.
The first of two EV battery plants is scheduled to begin operations in 2025, but sluggish EV demand has postponed construction of the second plant. Once both are in operation, the workforce is expected to total 5,000.
