LORDSTOWN, Ohio – It’s been a painful seven months for members of United Auto Workers Local 1112. However, were it not for a landmark collective bargaining agreement negotiated in 2023, the fate of these workers could have been much worse.
“Without having a GM national agreement, our members would’ve just been stranded, collecting unemployment and not receiving any benefit,” says George Goranitis, president of UAW Local 1112. “We’re blessed to fall under that agreement.”
On Oct. 30, 2023, the UAW successfully bargained for its battery plants to be included as part of General Motors Co.’s national agreement. This agreement included Ultium Cells LLC’s Lordstown plant, a joint venture between GM and Korea-based LG Energy Solution, and the first facility to supply battery cells for GM electric vehicles.
Approximately 700 UAW 1112 members returned to work in mid-August as Ultium Cells kickstarted efforts to ramp-up production after a seven-month shutdown. The company’s Lordstown plant is now the sole producer of battery cells for GM’s EV portfolio after a sister plant in Spring Hill, Tenn., realigned its business model to produce components for energy storage systems.
In late October, GM announced that it would place 1,350 of its hourly workforce on layoff at Ultium beginning Jan. 5. Of that number, approximately 650 ended up as permanent layoffs, while another 700 were considered temporary. The automaker said the layoffs were needed to realign battery production with demand, as sales of EVs began to falter. The local’s skilled trades – numbering approximately between 150 and 175 – were not impacted by the furloughs.
Yet the national agreement proved an important vehicle to help the membership endure the prolonged layoff, Goranitis says. “It gave our members on temporary layoff the right to sub pay, where members would earn up to 74% of their wages,” and uninterrupted health benefits. Simultaneously, these workers would also be eligible for unemployment benefits, he says. Those on indefinite or permanent layoff were offered the opportunity to transfer to other GM plants, he says.
“We just had 18 members from Local 1112 transfer to GM’s Parma, Ohio, plant,” Goranitis says. Others have relocated to plants in Indiana and Wisconsin, and the union president understands GM’s plant in Orion Township, Mich., has advertised more than 600 job openings.
“It’s a difficult decision to leave your family and friends,” Goranitis says. Many at the plant had never experienced a layoff before, and GM had at least offered a path to continue employment with the automaker.
It’s a dilemma that Goranitis knows well, recalling that he transferred to GM’s plant in Spring Hill after the Lordstown assembly plant shut down in 2019. He moved back to the area not long after, and joined Ultium after it was announced the joint venture would build a $2.3 billion battery-cell manufacturing plant in Lordstown. “I’ve been there,” he says.
UAW, COMMUNITY STEP UP
During the layoffs, Goranitis says that Local 1112, Trumbull County Job and Family Services, and local businesses collaborated to establish a resource and transition center at the union hall to support those workers on layoff. The Workforce Development Board of Trumbull County, for example, was instrumental in securing donations or referrals from local businesses that led to them bringing in 12 computers, internet access, a printer and paper for laid-off workers to use.
“They were able to help us get local business leaders to donate computers, and we were able to assist members get their unemployment and also sub-pay,” Goranitis says. A food pantry was also established at the hall to help those in need through this difficult period, he says. “We’ve continued to do that as well,” he says.
Still, Goranitis says he never lost hope that many of these workers would return to their jobs, noting that he is especially empathetic to those on permanent layoff. “There’s always hope that everyone will be back at the plant. We’re always looking to find a way to get these members back,” he says.
A BOOST IN MORALE
Workers began returning to Ultium in late July, Goranitis adds. By mid-August, the plant was expected to employ approximately 1,400 workers. “They’re so excited, they’re grateful,” he says. “The morale has been lifted considerably.”
After seven months, returning employees will still require training as they become reacclimated to their responsibilities at the plant, Goranitis says. “It’s pretty much like starting over again,” he says. “These jobs are very technical. It’s not a job where you can jump in and learn it in three or four days.”
Production will ramp up gradually, Goranitis says, adding that he is not aware of any set timeline for the plant to be recommissioned. Before that could happen, employees would need to go through safety training, floor training, and any machine training that would apply to their positions. Furthermore, any product would need to go through numerous quality tests before production lines could be restarted.
Much of Ultium’s future and growth is the public’s adoption of electric vehicles, a trend that Goranitis thinks will increase. “There are a lot of ups and downs with the EV industry, and we’re just trying to focus one day at a time,” he says. “At some point, I think EV sales will start taking off.”
BETTER TIMES AHEAD
Dave Green, a former president of UAW Local 1714 and 1112 and is today the director of UAW Region 2B, says he’s confident EV sales will rebound, despite challenges such as the expiration of federal tax EV credits at the end of September. “Obviously, there were some policy changes in Washington that had an impact,” he says. “But we’re glad people are coming back,” he says of Ultium.
The elimination of federal tax incentives – these were credits of up to $7,500 consumers could claim on their tax returns if they purchased a new EV – clearly caused turmoil in the EV market, Green says. Nevertheless, the sector has rebounded somewhat, and he’s confident consumers will continue to purchase EVs and expand that market segment in the future.
“I think the EV market is going to continue to grow,” he says.
Green says the UAW has made great strides over the past four years, as it adopted new, aggressive bargaining strategies that have proven successful. “We’ve been able to really get better contracts and significant agreements at a lot of different locations,” he says. “Things are going much better than they were four years ago.”
The national agreement with Ultium is a good example of the UAW’s achievements. “I mean, they went from making 16 bucks an hour, and I think they’re up to 34 bucks an hour,” he says of Ultium workers.
As a 36-year veteran of the auto industry, Green understands the frustrations of layoffs. The industry, he cautions, is cyclical, and can change because of various factors. Trade policies, fuel standards, the state of the overall economy – all impact to some degree the automotive industry. “As the economy and policy goes, that’s how the auto industry goes,” he says.
Younger members who haven’t experienced layoffs must understand that it’s part of the business. “I’ve been laid off, forced to work seven days a week, and weeks where I couldn’t work 40 hours,” he recalls. “You just have to roll with that and understand it.”
Pictured at top: UAW Local 1112 President George Goranitis says the return of hundreds of workers to Ultium Cells has lifted morale after a seven-month shutdown.
