labor Auto Parts Workers Strike for Recognition, Strategy Is to Shut Down Assembly Plant
UPDATE 5 p.m. Thursday: After workers spent a shift on the picket line, management gave in and recognized the UAW.
Auto parts workers at the Piston Automotive factory in Toledo, Ohio, went on strike for union recognition this morning--a move that could quickly shut down production of the new Jeep Cherokee, built by Chrysler in a plant across town.
Jeep workers said production had been starting and stopping during the first shift. On the picket line, Jim Waingrow, UAW international rep for the region, said he was expecting a call from Jeep management any minute. At 2 p.m. the Piston CEO was spotted conferring with the union's regional director.
Piston workers said 75-80 percent had signed cards asking for UAW representation, but management had refused to recognize them. The 70 workers make brake systems and struts for the Cherokee.
It's the norm for companies to refuse to recognize new bargaining units, even when a majority of workers sign cards. These days a union's typical next step is filing for an election with the National Labor Relations Board--but this gives the boss a chance to drag out the process and put workers through an anti-union wringer. Strikes for recognition, once common, have become rare.
Striker Trina Lawson said the plant normally ships 460 to 500 units a day to Jeep, and her hand is the last to touch them. She said workers approached the UAW when they learned that other supplier plants were paid more than the $12.55 experienced workers make.
Lawson cited instances of managers' "picky, childish" intimidation and said workers were sometimes made to work through their breaks or lunches. Sarina McLaughlin, who torques the bolts for the knuckles and puts trailing arms on the rear brake line, said sometimes managers tell workers two minutes before quitting time that they have to stay over--and then dismisses them at 12 minutes after the hour, before extra pay would kick in.
Asked why she backed the union, McLaughlin said, "In 1982 I was making $10.54 an hour at a union Safeway bread plant in Houston. They only want to pay us $12.55 and that was 32 years ago; that's all I got to say."
Lawson said the plant manager gave a speech inside the plant, threatening workers with points on their record or loss of holiday pay, and warning them that a walkout would shut Jeep down--but at 9 a.m. they all walked out anyway.
Shutting Jeep down was the plan, after all. They had earlier been briefed by UAW reps on the strategy: affect production of the lucrative Jeep so that Jeep will pressure its supplier to recognize the union.
"Cigarettes have tripled, gas has quadrupled. Those people up there in the office couldn't support their family on $12.55 an hour," McLaughlin said. She said even temporary workers were on the line.
In 1997 the UAW used a similar strategy to take advantage of the outsize power that the "just-in-time" parts supply system gives to supplier workers. Seat builders at Johnson Controls, a supplier to Ford, stopped production of Ford's Expedition SUV (profit: $10,000 per vehicle).
And in 2002 the union shut down Jeep production to force recognition and first contracts at four other Johnson Controls plants.
George Windau, who works at Jeep, said at the time the strike was "so devastating on production simply because of the 'just in time' supply philosophy used in the plants, which relies on a steady and continuous flow of these parts from Johnson Controls."
When a reporter noted today's display of power by Piston Automotive workers, McLaughlin laughed. "I'm loving it," she said. - See more at: http://www.labornotes.org/2014/04/auto-parts-workers-strike-recognition…
Strike Ends at North Toledo Auto Parts Plant
Piston Automotive refused to recognize union authorization cards
BY TYREL LINKHORN
The Blade
A strike at a Toledo auto parts supplier that threatened to disrupt production of the Jeep Cherokee ended about eight hours after it started.
Workers at Piston Automotive on East Alexis Road walked out of the plant around 9 a.m. Thursday to protest what they said was the company's refusal to recognize union authorization cards. Officials with the United Auto Workers said the cards showed there was overwhelming support to unionize the plant.
As of 5 p.m., employees were heading back to work after the company's president agreed to recognize the cards and promised no retribution would be taken against anyone who went on strike.
"Early next week we'll turn the cards over to a neutral [party], and the neutral will verify the cards. If we have a majority, and we do, then Piston has agreed to recognize the UAW as the collective bargaining unit for the plant here on Alexis Road," said Ken Lortz, the director of UAW Region 2B.
Thursday's strike came after what union officials characterized as two months of fruitless discussions with Piston Automotive, which is based in Redford, Mich. Mr. Lortz said Piston officials asked the UAW that the cards be thrown out and a new round collected, questioning whether people knew what they were signing.
"The fact they came out of the plant this morning to further fight for recognition verifies they knew what they were doing when they signed the cards," Mr. Lortz said Thursday.
Union officials said Piston recently raised the same objections at a plant in Detroit that supplies Ford, ultimately convincing the UAW to gather a second round of authorization cards. However, the company initially refused to verify those as well, and the UAW was prepared to strike. A last-minute agreement kept workers on the job.
A call to Piston's Michigan headquarters seeking comment on the issue was not returned Thursday.
Tim McCarthy, a labor employment specialist and partner with Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, said there are two routes workers can take to organize and join a union.
"Under the law, employers are entitled to voluntarily recognize the union on the basis of cards and a card check, provided the workers have the majority of support," he said. "An employer is not required to recognize the union based on a card check, but it can do so."
Mr. McCarthy said the second way is a traditional union election by secret ballot. "The result is the same, that the preference of the workers is accurately reflected in the outcome."
"From the employer's perspective, the traditional campaign is an opportunity for the union and the employer to explain why they believe unionization or being union-free is the better option. And of course employers often prefer that route to give employees a chance to be educated on their options," Mr. McCarthy said.
"The employer is entitled to say 'We're not willing to make this decision on the basis of a card check. The union, at that point, has the option to file a petition with the National Labor Relations Board to seek a representation election. A vote then occurs usually within 30 to 45 days," Mr. McCarthy said.
After the election, either side can contest the results, he added.
Piston was founded in the mid-1990s by former professional basketball player Vinnie Johnson. The company announced plans to come to Toledo in 2012 after winning a contract with Chrysler to supply chassis parts for the new Jeep Cherokee. At the time, state documents said the firm expected to create 84 jobs. Union officials said Thursday the plant had about 70 hourly employees working on two shifts.
The plant is an important supplier for Jeep, and having the plant shut down for any significant length of time would likely stall Jeep production. There were reports that Cherokee production was affected by the strike, but only temporarily.
Billie Powser, who has worked at the Piston plant for a year, said employees are working 60 hours a week, just like their counterparts at the Toledo Assembly Complex, but don't have the same pay or benefits. She said organizing with the UAW would help get them closer to parity with those people.
"I like a union," she said. "They're there to back you up. They're there to back up the rights of people."
A group of about 50 striking workers and supporters picketed outside the plant Thursday. There was a brief moment of tension when someone who was apparently an employee of another company at the industrial complex drove up to the picket line and began taking photographs of the pickets. A shouting match quickly ensued but the altercation did not get physical.
Two anti-union protesters also set up a couple hundred yards away from the pickets, but didn't interact with the union members.
Blade business writer Jon Chavez contributed to this report.
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