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Louisville's UAW branch discusses potential options for Glendale battery plant workers

The Local 862 labor union has more than 16,000 employees across the Louisville Metro. Nearly 9,000 of them come from Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant in the east end.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The labor union footprint in Kentucky could grow by the thousands in the years to come, as Ford's new electric battery plants in Glendale take shape.

It will create 5,000 new, local jobs. But will they be union employees? That's been a big question.

UAW Local 862, Louisville's branch of the major international labor union, has more than 16,000 employees across the Louisville Metro. Nearly 9,000 of them come from Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant in the east end.

Now, they hope the giant site in progress in Hardin County will eventually add to that number.

"[These will be] good-paying jobs -- potentially union jobs in the future," Local 862 President Todd Dunn said.

Kentucky and Ford Motor Company have a decades-long history working hand-in-hand with the UAW. Dunn wants the next chapter to include employees from the state's largest economic development project ever.

"Trying to have a footprint in Kentucky is so important," Dunn said. "It gave me chills knowing that such a facility is going in."

Construction of the BlueOval SK Battery Park, slated to support the electric vehicle (EV) wave, has made substantial progress in just a few months.

At the groundbreaking celebration in December, officials introduced a training center to be built on site. It will prepare 5,000 local workers, including Hardin and LaRue County students, for the job.

The question at the forefront is how likely is it that these employees unionize? History certainty points in that direction.

A BlueOval SK project spokesperson says workers will be able to choose whether to organize, and the joint venture supports their right to make that decision.

If they do, Gov. Andy Beshear's office says that'd make the Glendale manufacturing plant the third largest in the state to be union-represented -- behind the Kentucky Truck Plant and GE Appliances, both located in Louisville.

"We're seeing a national trend for people in the workplace wanting to have a voice," Dunn said. "Right now, Louisville is a hot spot for organizing. You're seeing coffee shops organized, you're seeing a lot of different sectors wanting to organize."

Now, Dunn and others are waiting to see if the community 50 miles south of Louisville will follow suit and add to the legacy.

He says regional heads are discussing the potential to make their pitch to future employees in the coming months. 

UAW also has a local branch in Elizabethtown, KY, called UAW Local 3047.

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