Why is BlueOval SK already raising starting salaries at Kentucky battery park?

In the midst of an ongoing nationwide autoworkers strike by the United Auto Workers (UAW) against the Detroit Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — the Ford joint venture electric vehicle battery plants in Glendale and Stanton, Tenn., announced an increase for those hired to work at the facilities.

Hourly wages at these two BlueOval SK facilities will start at $24 and go up to $37.50 based on experience, according to a Wednesday release from BlueOval SK. On July 31, the company announced its starting hourly wage would be $21.

“These new, higher wages are more competitive and in line with the current market,” BlueOval SK Human Resources Director Neva McGruder Burke said in a press release.

The top wage for current Ford employees is $32 per hour, company sources previously said, and a worker typically earns this wage after eight years. The electric vehicle and battery facilities will now offer wages that can surpass what unionized Ford workers can earn — and at a quicker rate — and benefits including performance bonuses up to 5% annually, vision and dental insurance, low-cost medical premiums and 401(k) matching.

"Hourly employees will be eligible to receive regular pay increases every six months. Once an employee reaches the top wage range, our human resources team will regularly assess pay increases to maintain competitiveness," the release from BlueOval SK said.

Neither of these battery parks are open or operating. In fact, the 1,500-acre twin battery plants in Kentucky, which is slated to be the largest in the world, won't start production until 2025. However, at BlueOval SK Battery Park in Kentucky, workers are being hired and trained. Tennessee is expected to begin the process this month.

Wage increase comes in midst of UAW strike

Regardless, this wage increase announcement comes at a crucial point in the automotive industry.

On Sept. 14, the UAW labor contract with the Detroit Three expired, and the union started a stand-up strike against all three automakers, the first in its history. One of its demands, in addition to the elimination of pay tiers and conversion of temp workers into full-time employees, was "a just transition" to electric vehicle and battery production.

The UAW which represents roughly 150,000 employees, has continued to vocalize concerns about these in-development battery plants. Concern over the new battery parks has been a hot-button issue throughout negotiations, with Ford CEO Jim Farley previously saying the union is holding negotiations "hostage" over the battery plants.

“If the UAW’s goal is a record contract, they have already achieved this,” Farley said. “It is grossly irresponsible to escalate these strikes and hurt thousands of families.”

Ford sources have said the BlueOval SK facilities would be built as non-union and once workers had been hired and started working, they would have the opportunity to unionize.

“While Ford remains open to working with the UAW on future battery plants in the United States, these are multi-billion-dollar investments and must operate at competitive and sustainable levels," Ford said in a statement emailed to the Courier Journal. "Employees at BlueOval SK’s battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky will be able to choose whether they organize, a right that Ford fully respects and supports.”

Last Friday, however, GM proved it is possible for joint venture electric vehicle battery plants to be included under the existing national agreement by including the company's future electric vehicle plants under the national master agreement, International UAW President Shawn Fain said Oct. 6.

Ursula Madden, external affairs director for BlueOval SK, said the wage increase was not related to the ongoing UAW strike.

"We have adjusted our wages based on our benchmark studies and our goal of providing competitive wages and benefits for our employees," Madden said, adding that BlueOval SK "has had no contact with UAW."

She also said that any employees hired under the old rate would have their pay raised to match the new rate.

What is BlueOval SK battery park?

The electric vehicle battery park in Kentucky is expected to create 5,000 new jobs in the Commonwealth. The new workers will be trained on-site at the new Elizabethtown Community and Technical College BlueOval SK Training Center, the lone co-branded learning center within the state community college system.

It's "the biggest economic development project this state has ever seen," Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear previously said.

The battery production site will consist of two battery production plants across a more than 2.3-square-mile campus. Each production plant on the campus will employ about 2,500 people, the Courier Journal previously reported.

UAW did not respond to a Courier Journal request for comment.

This story may be updated.

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on Twitter at @oliviamevans.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Electric vehicle battery plant starting salaries