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The United Auto Workers announced an initiative to organize the U.S. factories of Toyota, Tesla, Honda and the country’s other non-union automakers, hoping to dramatically increase their membership after negotiating record contracts with the Big Three in Detroit .
The UAW has opened a website where workers at 13 different companies can electronically sign union cards as a first step toward organizing their factories.
The UAW faces an uphill battle. Their previous efforts to organize automakers have failed, in part because many of the factories are in southern states where local laws, politics and culture make it difficult for unions to organize.
Still, union leaders hope to benefit from the big wage increases the UAW won for workers in new contracts with Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. These contracts include wage increases of at least 25 percent over 4½ years, as well as increased company contributions to retirement accounts and more paid time off.
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The union said thousands of workers at non-union companies have already contacted the UAW and signed cards in recent weeks, encouraged by the Detroit Three contracts. The company did not want to give more specific figures.
In a video announcing the campaign, UAW President Shawn Fain made the same arguments he made to Big Three workers this year when he called for them to strike: “Companies are making big profits while workers are falling behind “, he said.
“You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. “You don’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay your rent or feed your family while the company is making billions,” Fain said. “There is a better life out there. It starts with you: UAW.”
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Many non-union companies, including Honda, Toyota, Hyundai and Volkswagen, have given their U.S. workers double-digit pay increases in recent weeks, in what analysts say is a clear attempt to head off any unionization efforts.
In an emailed statement, Honda said it had built a successful U.S. business over 40 years, including by “maintaining competitive wages and benefits.”
“We do not believe that an outside party would enhance the excellent employment experience of our employees, nor would it enhance the outstanding track record and employment stability that Honda manufacturing employees in America have achieved,” the statement said.
In a statement, Nissan said: “Our history reflects that Nissan respects employees’ right to choose who represents their interests in the workplace. However, we believe our workplace is stronger without third-party involvement.”
Volkswagen and Rivian declined to comment. The other companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment or could not be reached.
The UAW said workers at non-union factories are helping to organize the campaign, which targets 150,000 employees at the following companies: BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.
The campaign comes amid a growing workplace activist movement, with workers across various industries striking and demanding better wages and benefits. Many have achieved great success this year, including UPS drivers, Hollywood actors and authors, and healthcare workers.
These victories have stimulated public interest in unions, but translating this into new members will not be easy. Union membership has generally declined in recent decades, as the UAW itself shows: Union membership has fallen from a peak of about 1.5 million workers in the 1970s to about 400,000 members today in a variety of industries, including health care and academia , declined sharply. Around 150,000 members work for automobile manufacturers.
Some of the UAW’s new targets, including Tesla, have worked hard to thwart union organizing efforts in the past. The UAW’s new campaign highlighted Tesla founder Elon Musk, saying he is the richest man in the world and runs a company with booming sales. “The question is: Will Tesla workers get their fair share? “It’s time for Tesla workers to stand up and fight for more,” the union’s website says.
Many of the other automakers have heavily unionized workforces in their home countries and may not be eager to play hardball, said Jake Rosenfeld, a sociology professor and labor expert at Washington University in St. Louis.
Still, their U.S. factories are located in states that could be anti-union, he said.
When the UAW tried to organize Volkswagen factories in Tennessee, the company maintained a neutral stance toward the campaign, but many local politicians expressed opposition, helping to rally workers against the action, Rosenfeld said.
In long-standing union states like Michigan, “you hear story after story of GM workers whose grandfathers were in the union – that gets passed down,” he said. This story doesn’t exist in the South.
The first step in organizing a workforce is usually getting workers to sign union authorization cards. According to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), once 30 percent of eligible workers sign, they have the legal right to hold an election on whether the company wants to unionize. In some cases, employers will voluntarily recognize a non-voting union once a majority of employees have signed the card.
The UAW is seeking a high level of ticket signings to strengthen its campaign. Officials said if a company’s organizing efforts reach the 30 percent threshold, it will publicly declare an organizing committee at the automaker and continue to advocate for hiring more workers. If it reaches 50 percent, the union said it will organize a rally with Fain and the workers at the factory. After 70 percent, the UAW will require the company to recognize the union. If the company fails to do so, the union will ask the NLRB to hold an election.