Kentucky battery plant workers at the BlueOval SK Battery Park (BOSK) in Glendale have voted to join the United Auto Workers (UAW). The workers make batteries to power Ford’s all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck and E-Transit cargo van.

On August 27 at 10 p.m., an unofficial tally showed 526 yes and 515 no votes, with forty-one challenged ballots. There were 1,200 eligible voters; turnout was over 90 percent. The UAW called the vote “a major step forward for workers who stood up against intense company opposition and chose to join the UAW.”

“We’re feeling pretty confident, I think we’re gonna win,” said battery worker Halee Hadfield via text message on August 23. “Things are really ramping up across the whole plant and people are pissing off the plant managers by simply wearing shirts, hats, and buttons with the UAW logo on them.”