The South has long remained a nearly impenetrable citadel for labor. Fresh off of the success of its Big Three strike last year and looking to organize an Alabama Mercedes plant, the United Auto Workers wants to storm the castle.
The Trump NLRB — currently four unelected lawyers and an empty seat — changed the rules of the union election process without notice or comment from the public.
Those losses are the result of highly sophisticated and intense anti-union campaigns by employers, business groups, and politicians. They are also the result of the unsophisticated, shallow organizing approach of the UAW.
Those losses are the result of highly sophisticated and intense anti-union campaigns by employers, business groups, and politicians. They are also the result of the unsophisticated, shallow organizing approach of the UAW.
According to workers, on-the-job injuries are among the top issues at the sprawling plant nestled in the Appalachian mountains of East Tennessee. The union authorization election runs Wednesday thru Friday this week 1,700 workers are eligible to vote
Company Manufactures Climate of Fear
On Tuesday, the United Auto Workers (UAW) filed for an election to represent all 1,709 of the plant’s hourly employees, requesting that the election be held on April 29 and 30.
Unions can win in the South, and doing so is an essential part of the broader goal of defeating the reactionary political and economic agenda nationwide. The key is cultivating and mobilizing community support for workers’ rights to organize.
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