Posts tagged Ford
Just 5 percent of private sector workers voted for their unions
September 12, 2024 // There are 7.4 million unionized private sector workers according to the Labor Department. Just under 5 percent of those workers voted in favor of the union that represents them according to an analysis of department data by the nonprofit Institute for the American Worker, a free market think tank. The vast majority of those workers joined workplaces that were already organized and have had to accept the union to keep their job. The workers almost never get a chance to weigh in themselves. The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), the federal law covering union activity, does not require that a union ever have to reaffirm that it has the workers’ support once it is recognized. This is true even if none of the workers who originally voted for the union are still around.
Workers at GM battery plant agree to unionize
September 6, 2024 // The unionization majority at Ultium Cells — a joint venture of General Motors and LG Energy Solution. It was the first time workers at an automaker other than the Big Three had unionized in the South. Earlier this year, 30% of workers at a Toyota factory in Missouri said they had signed union authorization cards. It was the fourth non-union plant to join a growing movement of autoworkers who are attempting to replicate the record contracts the UAW won from the Big Three Detroit automakers last year, including 25% wage bumps.
Labor Relations Radio E145: Did you know that 95% of unionized employees NEVER VOTED to unionize? I4AW’s Vinnie Vernuccio explains.
September 4, 2024 // As Americans, every two, four, or six years, we head to polls to cast our ballots for who we want to represent us. For unionized workers in the private sector, the vast majority never voted to unionize. According to a new study [in PDF] by the Institute for the American Worker (I4AW), 95 percent of private sector union workers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) are represented by a union they have never voted for.
Op-Ed: Why autoworkers in thriving S.C. should resist unionization efforts
August 26, 2024 // South Carolina has emerged as a critical player in the automotive industry, with major manufacturers establishing significant operations across the state. This success is a testament to our pro-business environment, which includes favorable labor laws, competitive wages, and a low cost of doing business. The South Carolina legislature has worked hard to create an environment that is fueling job creation and economic growth.
Gov. Beshear says BlueOval SK plant in Hardin County will not be unionized
August 19, 2024 // During an appearance on Sunday's CBS Face the Nation, Beshear said when the Ford BlueOval SK plant opens, it will not be unionized because of an agreement reached between Ford Motor Company and the United Auto Workers. he agreement created an entity that allows non-union employees to work alongside union employees. “We respect those agreements and their negotiations,” Beshear said. “Now what did it mean? 10,000 plus UAW workers in Ford’s two other facilities in Kentucky got better wages, better benefits [and] a better life for their families.”
Stellantis to lay off thousands of Warren union workers, UAW responds
August 13, 2024 // According to the Associated Press, Stellantis may lay off as many as 2,450 of the 3,700 workers at its Warren automobile plant. The job cuts would be at the Stellantis Warren Truck Plant, which builds an older version of the Ram 1500 pickup called the Tradesman, sold mainly to commercial businesses. The company came out with a new version of the truck in 2018, and for the 2025 model year there's a new Tradesman.
Exclusive: UAW considering next steps on worries Trump could beat Biden, sources say
July 12, 2024 // United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain met with the union's executive board late on Thursday to discuss his deep concerns with President Joe Biden's ability to defeat Donald Trump in the November election, three sources familiar with the matter said. Fain called together top officials at the nearly 400,000-member union to discuss concerns and what the union's options are, according to the sources, who asked not to be identified. The union is considering its next steps, the sources said.
UAW President Faces Allegations of Demanding Benefits for Domestic Partner
July 10, 2024 // The filing states that Barofsky is investigating whether Fain’s decision in May to remove UAW Vice President Rich Boyer from his role as the union’s top negotiator with Chrysler parent Stellantis was in retaliation for Boyer’s alleged “refusal to accede to demands” to take actions that “would have benefitted [the president’s] domestic partner and her sister.” Those actions would have amounted to “financial misconduct” Boyer later claimed, according to a separate document Barofsky’s office filed Monday. The 55-year-old Fain is currently engaged, according to the UAW website.
As UAW ‘is being watched with a microscope,’ new investigation puts Fain in crosshairs
July 1, 2024 // The Free Press has made numerous requests — none granted — over the years, including following the release of the latest status report, to interview the monitor, Neil Barofsky, a former assistant U.S. attorney and current partner in the Chicago law firm Jenner & Block. The consent decree stemming from the union's corruption scandal sets in place a six-year term of oversight by the monitor. Barofsky’s appointment was OK’d by U.S. District Court Judge David Lawson in May 2021. The monitor’s charge is broad, with the consent decree giving him “the authority and duty to remove fraud, corruption, illegal behavior, dishonesty and unethical practices from the UAW and its constituent entities.” The oversight by the independent monitor means that internal divisions and disagreements in addition to specific actions are much more likely to be brought to light. Masters described the situation as a fishbowl.
Fain, UAW VP trade barbs in letters over Stellantis Department
June 17, 2024 // One specific issue of contention was the location of the 2024 UAW National Stellantis Council meeting, which, according to a union flyer, was scheduled for March 17-22, at the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel and Casino in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Fain said that Boyer decided, despite his repeated objections, to hold the council in Puerto Rico "where we have many members but none that work for Stellantis." He said the decision has "continued to haunt us in our new organizing drives, where anti-union employers have repeatedly thrown it in our face — just as I predicted they would."