EV Era Threatens UAW Clout as New Chief Faces Nonunion Plants

As Shawn Fain takes the helm of the United Auto Workers, the union president’s four-year term will be judged by his ability to get in on the ground floor of the wave of new factories sprouting up to build electric vehicles and the batteries and components that power them.

Fain will be thrust almost immediately into high-stakes labor contract negotiations set to start this year with the Big Three automakers—Ford Motor Co., General Motors, and Stellantis N.V. He will be faced with the immense challenge of organizing nonunion electric vehicle assembly plants and the growing US-based supply ...