ELMS reportedly refused to hire UAW members; hired off the street

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MISHAWAKA, Ind. (WNDU) - The company that builds electric vehicles in Mishawaka found itself on the front page of the Wall Street Journal this week.

The headline was not flattering: “Green Startups Stumble, Accelerating a Selloff of Risky Stocks.”

In September, all appeared to be fine as the first electric delivery van of Electric Last Mile Solutions rolled off the production line at the former commercial Hummer plant in Mishawaka.

But 16 News Now has learned that about a week later, objections were made about the hiring of the first 20 or so production workers at the plant.

Documents on file with the National Labor Relations Board were obtained by 16 News Now. UAW Local 5 claims that ELMS refused to recognize the union, refused to fill job openings with furloughed union members, and hired new employees off the street.

“G.M., Hummer, had good experiences with the UAW, and generally were able to produce a great vehicle because of that partnership with the UAW, and I had assumed ELMS was going to do the same thing, but I wasn’t aware of anything in particular happening there with that,” said Jeff Rea, President and CEO of the South Bend Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Last week, stockholders were made aware that some previously released financial statement were not accurate and that new statements would have to be issued. The company further announced that its co-founders resigned.

“Never good for, you know, for news like this to come out,” said Jeff Rea. “It certainly puts a little bit of a black cloud over the potential development. Our hope is that they have taken swift action and to get back on track.”

The reaction to the news was swift. ELMS stock dropped by some 50 percent in a day.

“I think it’s something obviously the company has to work through. From the county’s perspective, we don’t have any incentives tied up in the project, and we certainly want to see people work, and the building be active, and so we’re hoping and we’re supportive that the project will continue to move forward,” said St. Joseph County Economic Development Director Bill Schalliol.

The case pending before the National Labor Relations Board contends that ELMS assumed the collective bargaining agreement of SF Motors when ELMS purchased the Mishawaka plant.