Nissan workers at Miss. plant vote against unionizing

[NAC4EV]

United Auto Workers loses battle to unionize Mississippi Nissan plant after two-day vote

Saturday, August 5, 2017, 3:55 AM

Voting concluded Friday night at a Nissan plant in Mississippi where some 3,700 workers opted against union representation by a margin of nearly two to one.

The National Labor Relations Board conducted the election at Nissan Motor Co.’s factory in Canton, Miss.

The secret-ballot vote was set up for Aug. 3 and 4 after workers filed for representation with United Auto Workers in July.

Despite massive support from other unions — and some celebrity backing — the organizing drive was considered a long shot for UAW, which has had little luck expanding beyond Detroit to foreign-owned automaking plants in the south.

Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant posted a picture of a bombed-out industrial building Wednesday night on his Facebook page and suggested that UAW was at least partially to blame for Detroit’s economic woes.

“I hope the employees at Nissan Canton understand what the UAW will do to your factory and town. Just ask Detroit. Vote no on the union,” he wrote.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who backed unionization, had a video chat with workers at the plant.
(Steven Senne/AP)
The anti-UAW faction also got a strong boost from the conservative Koch brothers’ political network, Americans for Prosperity.

Its Mississippi chapter mailed 25,000 flyers to homes around to Jackson-area homes saying “tell UAW ‘No Thanks.’”

It also bought radio, billboard and internet ads. Mississippi’s chamber of commerce and the National Association Manufacturers and other local business groups were also vocal about their opposition to bringing in the union.

On the pro-union side, support came from former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez and actor Danny Glover, among others.

Sanders called into the plant Tuesday for a video chat with workers.
He told UAW supporters it was time for the company to “start treating your workers with the respect and the dignity that they deserve. Give your workers a seat at the bargaining table. Give your workers the freedom to join a union, so that as a nation we can stop the race to the bottom.”

Just days before the secret-ballot voting began, the NLRB alleged violations of federal law.

UAW Secretary-Treasurer Gary Casteel said Nissan pressured workers to vote “no” and insinuated that layoffs would follow a pro-union vote — which is against the law.

In its filings July 31, the NLRB alleged that a supervisor acted illegally on March 30 by interrogating workers about their thoughts on unionizing and threatening lost wages, layoffs and even the possible plant closure if UAW was brought in.

The allegation occurred as UAW was trying to convince a majority of workers to call for a union vote.

 

[BoomerD]

I laugh when workers vote against their own best interests.

 

[Fanatical Meat]

I laugh when workers vote against their own best interests.

Agreed as a guy who used to manage bargained for employees, they got a much better & more fair deal.

 

[pcgeek11]

I laugh when I hear about all the UAW corruption and the shit heap they made of Detroit etc...

https://www.google.com/search?q=UAW+Corruption&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

 

[senseamp]

Union workers are too uppity for the work they do. Even non-union American manual labor is too expensive and is going to be outsourced or automated out.

 

[HomerJS]

They are voting against their better interests. Blue collar wages were better when there was a greater union representation.

 

[senseamp]

They are already overpaid though. Their wages can't compete with Mexico and robots already.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

They are voting against their better interests. Blue collar wages were better when there was a greater union representation.

You might want to take a look at how workers at the Japanese auto plants fare compared to their UAW counterparts. There's a reason almost all of them have avoided any organizing attempt both in the U.S and in Canada.

 

[Jhhnn]

They are already overpaid though. Their wages can't compete with Mexico and robots already.

Yeh, everybody is overpaid but you.

 

[Jhhnn]

You might want to take a look at how workers at the Japanese auto plants fare compared to their UAW counterparts. There's a reason almost all of them have avoided any organizing attempt both in the U.S and in Canada.

And how's that, pray tell?

 

[nickqt]

I laugh when I hear about all the UAW corruption and the shit heap they made of Detroit etc...

https://www.google.com/search?q=UAW+Corruption&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Yes, it was the Union members on the line who designed shit cars in the 70s. Because the narrative must be maintained, at all times.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

And how's that, pray tell?

The Japanese manufacturers already pay similar and have similar benefits to the UAW contracts at organized sites. I

It's the same here in Canada. My wife has several family members working at different Toyota plants in Woodstock and Cambridge and every few years a new organization drive occurs. And every year it gets voted down because the staff are already treated well and don't see a need to set the union loose.

 

[senseamp]

Yeh, everybody is overpaid but you.

Different metrics for engineers and production line workers. Engineering is amortized across entire volume of product, so what matters is winning volume, gross margin (value add in excess of BOM) and market share. Production line worker is only amortized by the volume produced by that one worker. What matters is cost per non-defective widget. Period, end of story.

 

[NAC4EV]

I laugh when workers vote against their own best interests.

Agreed as a guy who used to manage bargained for employees, they got a much better & more fair deal.

Classic southern thinking! LOL.....real bright!

 

[umbrella39]

Ha ha ha!!! Bookmarked for future crying and butt hurt by these self defeating fucktards...

 

[Puffnstuff]

The UAW is on life support and looking for another warm host to suck the life out of. Those auto workers did the right thing and should take the money they'd have spent each week on dues and invest it in their retirement funds.

 

[OutHouse]

I laugh when workers vote against their own best interests.

sounds like they are happy with what they have now and dont need the UAW meddling and taking their pay for little to nothing in return.

 

[greatnoob]

Conservatards: always going against their self-interest, always.

If I could start a business I'd want all my employees to be as stupid as these guys.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Ha ha ha!!! Bookmarked for future crying and butt hurt by these self defeating fucktards...

You do realize that 80% of the "fucktards" at this particular facility are African-American. These weren't white trailer trash degenerates voting against their self-interest to stigginit to those damn dirty liberals.

You do realize that Japanese factories and the way they operate are distinct and different from how American factories operate. The Japanese have an almost obsessive commitment to quality, and the traditional barriers that exist between line workers and management are far different than conditions in American factories. The Japanese treat their line workers quite well, it's part of their entire production model.

Check out "The Machine that Changed the World", it might provide some insights as to why workers at a Japanese factory in America may not see a reason to unionize.

 

[Jhhnn]

Here's how it played out in TN a few years ago-

http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/13/wh...-desperate-to-stop-a-union-vote-in-tennessee/

The UAW lost. I doubt that it's much different in MS.

 

[greatnoob]

You do realize that 80% of the "fucktards" at this particular facility are African-American. These weren't white trailer trash degenerates voting against their self-interest to stigginit to those damn dirty liberals.

You do realize that Japanese factories and the way they operate are distinct and different from how American factories operate. The Japanese have an almost obsessive commitment to quality, and the traditional barriers that exist between line workers and management are far different than conditions in American factories. The Japanese treat their line workers quite well, it's part of their entire production model.

Check out "The Machine that Changed the World", it might provide some insights as to why workers at a Japanese factory in America may not see a reason to unionize.

Regardless of who they are you need to be a complete idiot to vote against union representation.

Don't complain about wages once your employers start adding more hours for less pay. Don't complain about 'the system' when you wilfully declined union representation because you fell for the scare tactics of billionaires that profit and exploit the value you bring to their businesses. Don't ever complain after this point because US manufacturing is just as competitive as abroad.

 

[ivwshane]

I used to have a job that became unionized, we ended up taking a 30% pay cut and were paid well below industry standards. I also used to manage bargained employees and all the union did was make it so it was more difficult for management and the employees to work together. We were forced to micro manage and constantly document and write people up because the union would try to get their people off on technicalities. Oddly, the ones worth saving they never fought for.

Not all unions are the same and certainly some companies are worse than others but if a company treats its employees well and pays them well then why the hell would they need a union in the first place?

Would anyone like to show how these workers are paid compared to their union counterparts and how their treatment compares? Its kind of hard to say that they voted against their best interests when you aren't aware of all the facts.

 

[KB]

Regardless of who they are you need to be a complete idiot to vote against union representation.

Don't complain about wages once your employers start adding more hours for less pay. Don't complain about 'the system' when you wilfully declined union representation because you fell for the scare tactics of billionaires that profit and exploit the value you bring to their businesses. Don't ever complain after this point because US manufacturing is just as competitive as abroad.

They can always have another vote in a year or two. If their employer does this the UAW will get a stronger foothold next time. I think the threat of unionization is a good thing for the workers and they dont even have to pay union dues.

 

[Puffnstuff]

Here's how it played out in TN a few years ago-

http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/13/wh...-desperate-to-stop-a-union-vote-in-tennessee/

The UAW lost. I doubt that it's much different in MS.

Last year the UAW scored a victory in the VW plant in SC by leveraging a relationship with the home union in their German assembly plants. This is the methodology that they've resorted to which mirrors past behavior and is responsible for them being where they are today. They've had to merge with many other union remnants in order to survive and if they died I wouldn't shed a tear for them. They are parasitic at best and deserve to be extinct.

 

[pcgeek11]

Yes, it was the Union members on the line who designed shit cars in the 70s. Because the narrative must be maintained, at all times.

I said nothing about designing cars.