A coalition of unions and civic groups is pushing one of the world’s largest automakers to protect and train workers in return for federal money under President Biden’s signature laws.
The vote by workers at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis came as the United Auto Workers union seeks big raises and other gains in contract talks with the three automakers.
The United Auto Workers leader vowed to be tougher than his predecessors in contract talks. His initial demands attach big numbers to that promise.
A video from the former president attacked electric vehicles, predicting the demise of the American automotive industry.
The U.A.W., with a more confrontational leader, aims to win back wage and benefit concessions and insulate jobs from the rise of electric vehicles.
A memo by the union’s president underscores how some of President Biden’s moves to fight climate change could weaken some of his political support.
If successful, the workers who help develop Tesla’s Autopilot driver-assistance system would be the first group at the company to organize.
Stellantis plans to idle the factory, which makes the Cherokee, as it shifts to electric vehicles. Labor talks and a union election may be affected.
The result, at a plant owned by General Motors and a South Korean company, is a milestone for the auto union in organizing electric vehicle workers.
The automaker said the move would further its electric-vehicle goals. It may also defuse tensions with the U.A.W. ahead of contract talks next year.
