UAW: Transplant War Still On

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Though things have been quiet enough to make us wonder whether or not the UAW’s effort to organize America’s transplant auto factories is still on or not, the UAW’s Bob King confirms to Automotive News [sub] that the war is still on. King insists that forthcoming contract negotiations with the Detroit Three aren’t a distraction from the transplant organizing campaign, saying

Everything is moving forward.

But King isn’t ready to disclose any results from the organizing campaign, refusing to share any of the automaker responses to his organizing principles. We’re guessing that’s because they sent roughly the same response as Honda. Meanwhile, King still says the UAW will assimilate “at least one” transplant, but still refuses to identify the maker. Our guess is that King will organize a “Mission Accomplished” moment at NUMMI, the sewer into which all of the UAW’s contradictions flow. Though best known as a Toyota plant (in large part due to the UAW’s misleading protests against the Japanese automaker there), NUMMI has always been a union shop, and its new owner, Tesla, hardly qualifies as a “transplant.” In fact, such a move would come up short of even replacing the union jobs that were lost at NUMMI when GM pulled out of the joint venture during bankruptcy. If NUMMI is to be the UAW’s “victory” it will prove simply that the incredible shrinking union considers barely treading water a “victory.” Surprised?


Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • CJinSD CJinSD on Mar 22, 2011

    The scary thing is that the UAW can probably use the tsunami against the Japanese transplants, as US production capacity is probably more important to them than usual.

  • Jkross22 Jkross22 on Mar 22, 2011

    It's all about results. The UAW has simply not kept up with changing times, and that's why their membership has contracted so much over the last 20 yrs. They've outlived their usefulness.

  • Steven02 Steven02 on Mar 22, 2011

    NUMMI largely became a Japanese plant not to the UAW protests, but the fact that close to 75% of the production was going to Toyota. For several years, the only GM product to come out of there was the Vibe, which was mostly developed by Toyota anyway. But, to the article at hand, if NUMMI is the plant, then it shouldn't be counted as a victory. It was already union. I also think this is a lot of speculation to assume that it will be NUMMI.

  • CliffG CliffG on Mar 22, 2011

    That's a nice old Bulova Accutron, a quartz battery movement featuring a sweep second hand. I believe one guy in NJ bought all the parts for them when Bulova discontinued them. Obviously the UAW used to give out nice stuff back in the '60s. What were we talking about? That Bulova will still be running when the UAW is an answer to a trivia question.

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