From today’s New York Times:
Employees at a battery factory in Kentucky partly owned by Ford Motor appeared to have voted narrowly on Wednesday to be represented by the United Automobile Workers, but there were enough contested ballots to potentially change the result.
The vote was seen as a test of the U.A.W.’s campaign to organize in conservative states and exert influence in the expanding electric vehicle industry.
The factory, in Glendale, Ky., is jointly owned by Ford and SK On of South Korea. The venture, known as BlueOval SK, had campaigned intensely to block the union.
The vote was 526 for the union and 515 against. But the validity of another 41 ballots was challenged by the union, enough to swing the election the other way.
The union claimed victory late Wednesday, saying that the contested ballots were cast by employees ineligible to join the bargaining unit. “This is a major step forward for workers who stood up against intense company opposition and chose to join the U.A.W.,” the union said in a statement.
The contested ballots “are illegitimate and represent nothing more than an employer tactic to flood the unit and undermine the outcome,” the union said.
The National Labor Relations Board oversaw the election and its officials will determine whether the contested ballots will be counted. That potentially gives the Trump administration an opening to influence the outcome. The five-member board has been without a quorum and hindered in making major decisions since President Trump dismissed a Democratic member in January.
Read the complete story here.