Foreign Automakers, the South, Remain Off-limits to UAW as Nissan Workers Reject Unionization

The United Auto Workers spared no effort in its attempts to organize foreign automakers operating in the United States, but the workforce — and the South, for the most part — remains off limits to the union.

Yesterday, workers at Nissan’s Canton, Mississippi assembly plant voted overwhelmingly to reject the UAW’s overtures, spelling an end to a heated, nearly decade-long unionization bid that saw the union file complaints with the National Labor Relations Board. Both sides have accused the other of dirty and unfair tactics aimed at swaying worker sentiment towards or against organized labor. Both sides, of course, deny any wrongdoing.

The UAW, which failed in two previous attempts to unionize Nissan’s Tennessee plant, described Nissan’s Mississippi efforts as one of the “nastiest anti-union campaigns in the modern history of the American labour movement.” Ultimately, it all came down to the vote.

According to the NLRB, employees voted 2,244 against unionization, with 1,307 voting in favor. Contract workers, who bring the plant’s workforce to 6,500 people, weren’t eligible to vote.

In a statement, the automaker said, “With this vote, the voice of Nissan employees has been heard. They have rejected the UAW and chosen to self-represent, continuing the direct relationship they enjoy with the company.”

The UAW, burned in its attempt to expand its presence into the South, rife with foreign automakers, left the battle bruised but, according to president Dennis Williams, not broken.

“The result of the election was a setback for these workers, the UAW and working Americans everywhere, but in no way should it be considered a defeat,” Williams said in a statement.

The Canton plant, opened in 2003, produces the Altima, Murano, Frontier, Titan, and NV vans. In the vote’s run-up, the UAW claims Nissan engaged in intimidation tactics, even playing anti-union materials on a constant loop on televisions in the plant’s break rooms. Managers, it alleges, engaged in one-on-one discussions with employees about the dangers of unionization, with ominous presentations delivered to larger groups.

The automaker countered the complaints by saying UAW affiliation would make the plant uncompetitive, threatening workers’ livelihoods.

Given the area’s socioeconomic makeup, race and money factored into the battle, with Nissan claiming the plant lifted the region’s economic fortunes, providing well-paying jobs for workers, many of them African-Americans. Some pro-union forces accused the automaker of favoring white employees, something Nissan denies, while anti-union forces accuse the UAW of trying to buy support in the African-American community through donations to local civil rights and religious groups.

At the end of the day, longstanding workers stand to make nearly as much as those employed by domestic plants in the North, with Nissan matching contributions to 401(k) savings plans and offering a defined contribution retirement plan. Money, especially in a region without much of it, talks.

It’s unlikely the UAW has given up on Nissan. However, last night’s vote will surely turn its focus — at least temporarily — to automakers with a more receptive workforce.

[Sources: Reuters, The New York Times] [Image: Nissan]