UAW Makes Major Push to Unionize Foreign Automotive Plants in U.S.

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The United Autoworkers Union (UAW) (Detroit, Michigan) is in trouble and has been for some time. Membership continues to decline each year and thanks to the recession and bankruptcy of General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (Detroit) and the Chrysler Group LLC (Auburn Hills, Michigan), there are fewer automotive assembly plants and fewer jobs. While a number of these union jobs have returned as automakers increase production to meet demand, they have, for the most part, been bringing back union workers who had previously been laid off, thus not creating new jobs that would help expand the union's membership rolls. In order to help solve this problem of flagging membership, the UAW is, once again, making a major push to unionize foreign automotive plants in the U.S.

This will not be the first time the union has made such a push. In the past, they have targeted foreign automotive plants and tried to unionize the workers, but failed by a significant margin. The majority of these facilities are in right-to-work states, where unions are not looked upon as highly as they are in northern states. In addition, many of the foreign automotive plants reside in states where unemployment is a major problem and workers are more than happy just having a job--and are unlikely to do anything that may threaten that job.

UAW President Bob King has made the unionization of foreign automotive plants his top priority since taking office in 2010. The union is in dire need of more facilities under its control. Union membership has been on the decline since 1979, when it was at its peak membership of 1.5 million workers. Today, the union's membership is less than a third of that amount and declining. It has been very difficult to attract younger workers to the cause, as the Internet age has produced so many other methods of employment and has allowed potential union members to seek work across a much wider area.

The union is operating at a deficit these days and has been forced to tap into its financial reserves to keep things going. Cost-cutting measures have been put in place to assist in keeping costs down, but the bottom line for the UAW is that it needs more members in order to survive. Attempts have been made to branch out from the automotive sector, but with limited success.

The UAW's most recent efforts revolved around using its ties with the German unions that dominate the automotive sector in Germany to pressure German automakers in the U.S. to unionize their facilities. This effort has not worked thus far and is not likely to bear fruit in the near future. The relationship between unions and automakers in Germany is significantly different and less antagonistic than it is here in the U.S., and the methods that worked in Europe do not translate well to American soil.

The UAW is now taking aim at Nissan Motor Company Limited (Yokohama, Japan) and its assembly plant in Canton, Mississippi. Workers at Canton are currently paid less than workers at Nissan's other facility in Smyrna, Tennessee. However, the current wage in Canton is still significantly higher than the average wage across the state, which may be compelling enough for workers to not want to rock the boat.

The UAW has no choice but to pull out all the stops to increase its membership or risk more significant problems in the near future. While unionization of foreign automakers is certainly an avenue worth investigating once again, the odds of success are slim. It does not help that automakers, both foreign and American, have been having a banner year in terms of sales, which has led to rehiring workers. Thousands of automotive jobs have been filled this year, and thousands more job additions have been announced for the near future. The UAW is in the fight of its life, and it may not have the ammunition to win. The work that is done this year and next to unionize those facilities will be critical to the union's survival, and it's not looking like the union is going to have a good chance to win this one.

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