In front of IBEW Local Union 369 in 90 degree weather on July 26, workers fanned themselves, shaded their heads with shirts and draped cold towels around their necks, all of which claimed: “It’s Better in a Union,” as two BlueOval SK employees spoke about what they’ve been experiencing at the Hardin County-based battery park.
Amber Levay, a production operator, and Amanda East, an incoming quality control worker, both said they are fighting for their voice to be heard and for BlueOval SK’s anti-union busting tactics to stop.
It was all part of the AFL-CIO’s “It’s Better in a Union” bus tour and the first Kentucky Women’s Union Summit. “Union City, USA” was the tour’s only stop in Kentucky and its seventh stop in the South.
The rally also featured statements by Gov. Andy Beshear, Congressman Morgan McGarvey and State Rep. Nima Kulkarni, (D-Louisville).
Amanda East and Amber Levay, of Blue Oval SK, spoke at the Workers to Rally as AFL-CIO Bus Tour stopped in Louisville. July 26, 2025
Beshear, who previously walked a picket line with UAW in 2023, said it was “great” to be at the AFL-CIO event “and to be able to say my name is Andy Beshear and I am the proud pro-union governor of the commonwealth of Kentucky.
“Being pro union, it creates jobs, it creates opportunities. It creates a better life for working-class families. We’ve proven in Kentucky you can be pro-job, pro-business and pro-union all at the same time and succeed,” the governor added.
More: Kentucky investigating reports of mold at Ford, SK On’s new EV battery plant
Louisville mayor Craig Greenberg and Kentucky AFL-CIO President Dustin Reinstedler were also in attendance.
“This is not a bus stop,” McGarvey shouted at the rally. “This is a bus start.”
Workers at the BlueOval SK Battery Park raised safety concerns beginning in early 2024 regarding mold in the facility. The company since denied unsafe working conditions, including running ads and issuing public statements that contradict worker claims.
“We want a voice … we want to get negotiating going,” East, an employee at the battery park facility, said, “and get a contract negotiation for a better workplace, better health insurance and better pay.”
Plant employees filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to join the United Auto Workers union in January. The NLRB declared on June 26 that the petition fulfilled election prerequisites, which opens a pathway for workers at the battery park to vote on unionization. An election date has not yet been set.
“Next time you see me, we will be in negotiations,” Levay said.
More: ‘You can fire us’: BlueOval SK workers refused to handle toxic chemical, records show
The roughly $6 billion battery park, a joint venture between Ford Motor Co. and South Korean company SK On, was expected to start producing batteries for Ford and Lincoln electric vehicles in 2025. However, BlueOval SK and its parent companies have halted the planned start for a second battery park.
A Courier Journal investigation found hundreds of pages of records indicating workers faced what they say are health hazards at the facility, including plant employees who repeatedly said they feel unsafe working with various toxic substances they don’t fully understand. Those investigations resulted in at least one citation from Kentucky’s labor cabinet. More cases are still under investigation with Kentucky’s Occupational Safety and Health officials.
Based on employee interviews, investigators also found conflicting accounts of fire preparedness within the plant, which has already experienced some fires.
Olivia Evans contributed to this report. Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative sports reporter. Reach her at skuzydym@courier-journal.com.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: BlueOval SK battery plant employees speak at AFL-CIO Louisville rally