After proving the success of the “Stand Up” strike strategy with a historic victory for workers at Ford, GM, and Stellantis, the United Auto Workers (UAW) quickly set their sights on organizing plants beyond these three American manufacturers. On a December 11th, 2023 live stream, President Shawn Fain announced:
“Right now, thousands of workers at thirteen auto companies are fighting for a better life with the UAW. Workers at Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Nissan, Hyundai, Mazda, BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Volvo, Tesla, Rivian, and Lucid are ready to Stand Up. From California to South Carolina. From Illinois to Alabama. These workers are making history, and I’ve never seen anything like it.”
The Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, TN had signed over 1,000 union authorization cards in the first week of organizing and then more than 50% signed by the beginning of February. With this surge in labor organizing comes company repression as Honda, Hyundai, and Volkswagen are using union busting tactics to prevent workers from fighting for better pay and benefits. The right to unionize and join a union continues to be recognized by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and therefore the UAW filed unfair labor practice charges against these companies in early December. Many workers reported having their union leaflets thrown away by management and told they could not distribute union material while companies simultaneously hand out anti-union t-shirts and flyers.
In a letter to the executives of thirteen different non-union auto companies, thirty-three US Senators called for a stance of neutrality as these automaker companies are currently benefiting from federal electric vehicle subsidies, saying:
“All workers, no matter what states they live in, should have a free and unhindered opportunity to join a union. We strongly urge you to implement a neutrality agreement at all of your plants and commit to negotiating in good faith if your employees do elect to unionize with the UAW.”
Before and during the current wave of union organizing, manufacturers have worked hard to prevent workers from filing elections, using tactics such as mandatory anti-union meetings, terminations, and intimidation. A Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi threatened a plant closure if workers unionized in 2017. A Portland, OR Volvo dealership hired a union busting law firm and other consultants in March 2022 to bend election rules in favor of the company. Tesla fired workers in February 2023 just one day after their union campaign had been announced. Elon Musk has been public and vocal about his opposition to unions. In January 2024 SpaceX filed a lawsuit attacking the National Labor Relations Board as unconstitutional. Despite these attacks, the UAW union drives push forward. Along with over 50% signing union cards at Volkswagen in Tennessee, the UAW has also signed over 30% of the workers at the Hyundai plant in Montgomery, AL and Mercedes in Tuscaloosa, AL. The success thus far in Alabama has led to union-busting attempts by state Commerce Secretary Ellen McNair, who threatened to fight any unionization drives in the auto industry in Alabama claiming it “places our state’s main economic driver in the crosshairs.” This is a blatant attempt at intimidation of the workers in Alabama from standing up to fight. Shawn Fain has stated union elections won’t be filed until a plant has 70% signatures. LUEL stands in solidarity with auto workers nationwide as they stand up and fight back against their corrupt bosses.