UAW Pushing Foreign Companies with U.S. Plants to Allow Union Votes
Companies that do not allow union elections violate human rights, said Bob King, president of the UAW, which is talking with some foreign auto companies that have plants in the United States about a set of principles aimed at ensuring fair elections. Such principles are necessary, King said, because National Labor Relations Board procedures are outdated and allow companies to intimidate workers and spread misinformation. Transplant companies are foreign-owned companies that have plants in the United States.
UAW is adopting this strategy because of changes in the global economy.
Fundamental changes in the global economy have demanded fundamental changes in the labor movement. Our mindset is not adversarial, and we do not seek conflict. We do not believe the United States can successfully compete in a global economy if we are divided and politicized.
UAW Chevy Wins Big at Brickyard, Nonunion Toyota Eats Exhaust
 |
|
The fact that a UAW-made engine powered Jamie McMurray’s Chevy Impala to victory at the Brickyard 400 didn’t grab headlines or make the TV news. But it caused this fan in the stands to whoop it up.
I’m a 60-year-old union card-carrying Chevy man.
The UAW has been part of NASCAR racing at the storied Indianapolis Motor Speedway and other tracks for as long as this motorhead can remember.
Chevy, Ford, Dodge and Toyota field specially made race cars in NASCAR’s premier Sprint Cup Series. Stateside, the UAW represents workers at Chevy, Ford and Dodge factories. Toyota’s American plants are nonunion.
So in my book, any union member rooting for a Toyota to win a NASCAR race (or owning a Toyota) would be like a chicken cheering for Col. Sanders.
NUMMI Workers Ratify Plant Closing Package
Some 4,500 UAW Local 2244 members have ratified a closing agreement for the Fremont, Calif., plant with New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI). In today’s ratification vote, members of Local 2244 approved the agreement by a margin of 90 percent.
UAW Vice President Jimmy Settles praised members of the Local 2244 bargaining committee for their hard work and solidarity.
We are all deeply saddened to see these operations come to an end. While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, the terms of this agreement will certainly help cushion the impact for our members.
UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement on NUMMI Closing
The UAW today announced it has reached a tentative agreement on the planned closing of Toyota’s New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, Calif. The agreement covers some 4,500 members of UAW Local 2244.
The tentative agreement will be presented to members of the local in the coming days. Details are being withheld pending a ratification vote by the membership. Voting dates have not yet been scheduled.
NUMMI Closing Highlights Need for U.S. Manufacturing Policy
Closing the New United Motors Manufacturing Inc. automotive plant in California will eliminate 25,000 jobs in the state and cost taxpayers $2.3 billion to replace the jobs lost, according to a March 3 report by University of California professor Harley Shaiken.
The Daily Labor Report (subscription required) notes:
California and municipalities near the Fremont, Calif., plant will lose nearly a billion dollars of revenue in the decade after the plant closes, according to a blue-ribbon panel formed by state Treasurer Bill Lockyer (D).
Using estimates by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, the report found that “just creating 4,700 jobs-the number lost at NUMMI itself—would cost $433 million.”
Bailout Billionaires, Kill the Middle Class
We know how the bridge loan to automakers is being spent because the Bush administration made sure they only got aid after agreeing to tough stipulations.
So that accounts for $14.5 billion of our taxpayer money. But what about the rest of the $335.5 billion that went to Wall Street financial firms?
On “Morning Joe,” Joe Scarborough pointed out today that we do know how Wall Street spent $1.6 billion: on chauffeurs, company jets, home security, country club memberships and stock options.
Job-Killing Republicans
 |
|
The senators who yesterday blocked the $14 billion bridge loan to the auto industry out of ideological hatred for unions and workers who make a middle-class living did so knowing that if the American auto industry collapsed, between 3 million and 5 million jobs would be killed.
Think Progress documents the extent to which these Republicans are willing to go to fulfill their visceral hatred for America’s middle class and unions. A memo sent among Senate Republican staffers on the auto loan negotiations called for Republicans to “stand firm and take their first shot against organized labor.”
