Investor letter urges Ford, Blue Oval SK to address reported union-busting, engagement concerns
Members of BlueOval Good Neighbors, a coalition of residents from Haywood, Tipton, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Fayette counties, march to BlueOval SK's Arlington, Tenn. office on May 6, 2025. (Photo: BlueOval Good Neighbors/Tennessee for All)
A group of Ford Motor Company investors sent a letter to the company's board May 1, asking it to address concerns over reported union-busting activity at a Kentucky battery plant and lack of engagement with Black communities surrounding its BlueOval City project in Tennessee.
The letter references three electric vehicle battery plants — two in Kentucky and one in Stanton, Tennessee — run by BlueOval SK, a 50/50 joint venture between Ford and Korea-based SK On.
While BlueOval SK is a separate legal entity from Ford, the signatories note the 'significant leverage and influence Ford has over this joint venture,' and call on the company to 'expeditiously address these serious concerns.'
The 14 investors who signed the letter urged board members to respond at Ford's virtual Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 8. Combined, the investors represent more than $58 billion in total assets under management, though their individual stakes in Ford are not public. Investor Advocates for Social Justice, which coordinated the investors' effort, also signed.
The letter comes after one investor, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, filed a shareholder proposal in March asking Ford to adopt a policy to remain neutral in unionization efforts at its plants and to negotiate with BlueOval Good Neighbors, a community coalition pushing Ford for a legally binding community benefits agreement for the Tennessee BlueOval City project.
The proposal — which is solely advisory and not binding — would have gone on the company's proxy statement to be voted on by shareholders at the May 8 meeting, but Ford successfully requested the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission block the measure from the ballot, citing its 'vague' nature and attempt to 'micromanage' the company.
Members of BlueOval Good Neighbors, a coalition of residents from Haywood, Tipton, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Fayette counties, march to BlueOval SK's Arlington, Tenn. office on May 6, 2025. (Photo: BlueOval Good Neighbors/Tennessee for All)
Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace has long invested in Ford and other companies to 'help us fund our mission and take care of our sisters,' Assistant Congregation Leader and Congregation Treasurer Sister Susan Francois said.
'It would be wonderful if our concerns over freedom of association and collective bargaining were addressed so that the workers were able to negotiate good working conditions, and then also that the Blue Oval Good Neighbors are able to raise their concerns and be in dialogue with Ford,' Francois, who also sits on the Investor Advocates for Social Justice board, said. 'Ultimately, Ford are the ones that are running the company. We understand that. But as shareholders, we really just want them to be good neighbors, and believe it'll be better for business.'
In separate statements to Tennessee Lookout, BlueOval SK affirmed its compliance with U.S. labor laws and Ford highlighted its engagement with residents, community leaders and elected officials surrounding the new campus.
Investors had not yet received a response from Ford as of 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Union concerns
Workers at a BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale, Kentucky filed for an election to join the United Auto Workers union in January. A date has yet to be set for a secret-ballot election. If a majority of workers vote in favor of the union, the next step is negotiating a contract.
The letter expresses investors' 'alarm' at BlueOval SK's attempts to 'dissuade workers from unionizing,' including anti-union flyers and materials on the company's website.
'The ask of BlueOval SK would be to stop its anti-union campaign … investors believe that workers should truly have the freedom to unionize if they want,' Aaron Acosta, program director at Investor Advocates for Social Justice, said Monday.
BlueOval SK has maintained that the January filing was premature, as the plant had not yet begun production or hired the plant's full staff.
'We celebrate and empower each team member to define their own success by speaking for themselves,' spokesperson Mallory Cooke wrote in an email to Tennessee Lookout. 'BlueOval SK team members are free to choose whether to keep a direct relationship with leaders or turn over their voice to a labor union. BlueOval SK supports the U.S. labour law requirement that a substantial and representative complement of the employees impacted by this choice have the opportunity to vote.'
The National Labor Relations Board case database shows three open complaints against BlueOval SK in Kentucky, including allegations of coercive actions and statements, retaliation and interrogation. The NLRB has yet to reach decisions on these cases.
Company, coalition spar over 'good neighbor' commitments
The Blue Oval Good Neighbors coalition, supported by advocacy group Tennessee for All, marched to BlueOval SK's corporate office in Arlington, Tennessee Tuesday to present a petition 'signed by more than 1,000 local residents in support of a binding agreement for the company's multi-billion dollar, taxpayer-subsidized project.'
The group has pushed for Ford to commit to providing legal representation and subsidies for locals affected by eviction and land loss stemming from construction and rising property values surrounding the massive campus. They have also called for Ford to contribute to a 'bank' of public land to be used for public projects, a commitment to 50% local hire in West Tennessee and the creation of a board of neighbors with oversight authority to ensure accountability.
Ford unveiled its $9 million 'Good Neighbor Plan' to support areas surrounding the electric vehicle manufacturing campus in late January. The slate of investments was sourced from resident feedback and input from Ford's hand-selected Equitable Growth Advisory Council.
Members of BlueOval Good Neighbors, a coalition of residents from Haywood, Tipton, Lauderdale, Shelby, and Fayette counties, are reflected in the windows of BlueOval SK's Arlington, Tenn. office on May 6, 2025. (Photo: BlueOval Good Neighbors/Tennessee for All)
Plans include the restoration of a historic African American schoolhouse into a new Ford Community Center in Stanton, in addition to scholarships for local automotive manufacturing programs, a new childcare facility, a community assistance fund for families facing temporary hardship and funding for mobile healthcare services.
While BlueOval Good Neighbors has said the company's plan does include some of its demands, it is not legally binding. The coalition has also criticized the makeup of Ford's Equitable Growth Advisory Council, including elected officials who were serving during a 2021 Fayette County redistricting process that is now the subject of a U.S. Department of Justice voting rights lawsuit claiming the new maps strip Black voters of equal opportunity.
'What we hear most from residents is that they want to speak for themselves,' Ford spokesperson Jessica Enoch wrote in an email to Tennessee Lookout. 'Ford has been contacted by many groups that say they speak on behalf of residents, many of which are not from the area. It would not be feasible for us to engage with every third-party group that purports to speak on behalf of residents.'
Enoch said residents can share ideas with Ford at commrels@ford.com.
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