The majority of workers at the Mercedes plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, have just recently signed cards in support of joining the union. According to the union, this is the second union plant to reach more than 50% of workers signing up. The UAW announced in February that there was a Volkswagen factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the majority of the workers also signed their cards to join the union. The main reason for the votes to move to a union is that employees in these plants believe they have gone years without meaningful pay raises, and the two-tier wage system abuses temporary workers.
After winning strong contracts with Detroit's three automakers last year, the union is now trying to organize all nonunion plants in the U.S., including Tesla factories in Texas, California, and Nevada. The UAW's drive will target more than a dozen nonunion plants in the U.S. including Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc. Many nonunion factories have already announced pay increases for employees, which UAW president Shawn Fain calls the "UAW bump."
4 comments:
What specific strategies or tactics has the UAW employed to garner support among workers at nonunion plants? Do we know how effective have these efforts been in achieving their goals?
I wonder if this shift in union presence in the auto industry is a result in worker opinion toward unions shifting, or UAW marketing themselves well.
I think it's interesting that the "UAW bump" occurred at the plants that the union was planning on targeting next since they say the success the union has had recently at plants they work with. It'll be interesting to see if this "bump" persists or if it'll die out as time goes on.
I believe this is evidence of what Dr. Skosples talks about in the rise of unhappiness of individuals in capitalism. I think the US has been slowly shifting back toward the practices of strong union forces. As unions are popping up in all industries, and are fighting for fairer wages and better benefits.
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