Home » US Employment News » UAW initiates union drive at Tesla and a dozen automakers
UAW initiates union drive at Tesla and a dozen automakers
https://www.whatjobs.com/news/usa/us-employment-news/uaw-initiates-union-drive-at-tesla-and-a-dozen-automakers
By Nithya Bose in US Employment News, posted November 30, 2023
The United Auto Workers has started a campaign to unionize 13 non-union automakers in the US after securing record deals at Detroit's "Big Three."
The campaign covers nearly 150,000 autoworkers in BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
Workers are signing electronic cards to support union efforts to organize US plants from those automakers.
However, the UAW doesn’t guarantee the union would push to unionize every plant or automaker participating in the campaign.
Read More: UAW Members Approve Labor Deals At Ford And Stellantis
The final decision rests on workers voting in favor of UAW representation.
After securing landmark contracts with General Motors, Ford Motor, and Stellantis, UAW President Shawn Fain sees expanding union ranks as the next mission.
Read More: General Motors Union Workers Approve UAW Deal After Tense Vote
The union’s contract with the three Detroit majors includes at least 25 percent hourly pay raises, reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, and improved profit-sharing payments.
During his short time as UAW President, Shawn Fain has adopted simultaneous strikes targeting the automakers’ highly profitable factories.
UAW membership has significantly declined from approximately 700,000 members in 2001 to 383,000 at the beginning of this year.
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Fain aims to extend the union's reach beyond the "Big Three" to cover the "Big Five or Big Six" by the expiration of the four-and-a-half-year contracts with the Detroit automakers in April 2028.
While Fain is confident over the campaign's momentum, history shows the UAW has faced challenges in organizing non-Detroit automakers.
Despite recent wage increases announced by non-union automakers like Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda in response to UAW deals, the union has struggled to gain traction in organizing efforts.
It’s mainly at plants such as Tesla's Fremont facility in California.
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At the DealBook Summit in New York, Tesla CEO Elon Musk was asked about the UAW’s aims.
He replied: “If Tesla gets unionized it will be because we deserve it and we failed in some way.”
The UAW said Toyota's assembly complex in Georgetown, Kentucky is among the strong campaigns.
The complex has 7,800 workers making the firm's iconic Camry and lucrative RAV4 and Lexus ES.
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