The United Auto Workers reported two pivotal developments on Thursday, declaring a preliminary victory in a closely watched union election at Ford Motor’s BlueOval SK battery plant in Kentucky while simultaneously calling a strike of more than 600 members at two GE Aerospace facilities in Ohio and Kentucky. At the BlueOval SK complex in Glendale, the union said workers voted 526–515 to join the UAW. Forty-one ballots remain under challenge, leaving the result in the hands of the National Labor Relations Board. The joint venture between Ford and South Korea’s SK On ultimately plans to employ about 5,000 people across two battery plants; roughly 1,450 are currently on site producing packs for the F-150 Lightning and other electric vehicles. A certified win would give the UAW a foothold at another EV plant in the U.S. South, a region where it has struggled to organize. Separately, UAW President Shawn Fain confirmed that more than 600 union members walked off the job at GE Aerospace’s Evendale, Ohio, jet-engine plant and its Erlanger, Kentucky, distribution facility after contract talks broke down. The walkout halts work at both sites, adding pressure on GE Aerospace as it ramps up production of commercial and military engines. Both actions underscore the union’s twin priorities of securing stronger contracts at legacy manufacturers and extending collective bargaining to new electric-vehicle supply chains. The outcomes could shape labor relations in two strategically important industries—commercial aerospace and battery manufacturing—at a time of heightened competition for skilled workers.