Workers at a Kentucky BlueOval SK Battery Park filed for an election to join the United Auto Workers union Tuesday, marking the new year’s first major union election petition filed in the South —and one that could foretell future union activity in Tennessee.

The UAW union has petitioned the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election at the BlueOval SK battery plant in Kentucky.

The United Auto Workers union is petitioning the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election at a Kentucky battery plant run by a Ford Motor joint venture, the union said in a release Wednesday.

The UAW is trying to rush BlueOval SK into unionization before our full workforce has the opportunity to make a truly free and informed choice,” a company spokesperson said.

Workers at a Ford Motor Co. joint-venture battery plant in Kentucky have formally asked the federal government to hold a vote on joining the United Auto Workers, the union said.

The United Auto Workers has filed for a union vote by workers at the BlueOval SK battery plant in Glendale — an action the company says is “premature” and “puts at risk the freedom and opportunities of our current and soon-to-be-hired Kentucky team members.

A supermajority of workers at BlueOval SK filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board for a vote to form their union with the UAW.

Battery workers at BlueOval SK (BOSK) in Kentucky have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) for a future unionization vote. A supermajority of workers at BlueOval SK Battery Park in Glendale,