With the UAW’s own staff having accused UAW bosses of “spending like the Housewives of Beverly Hills,” and after having spent tens of millions of his members’ money, with his retirement looming, time is running out for UAW boss Bob King to unionize a foreign-owned auto plant in the U.S. on his watch.
Now, following the spending of up to $8,000 per vote in Chattanooga and having Volkswagen workers hand King and his fellow UAW bosses a “devastating defeat” in return, King & Company are beginning to appear more and more desperate in their attempt to unionize any foreign-owned auto plant in the U.S.
Unlike the UAW’s efforts in Chattanooga, where race was apparently not an issue, the UAW has allegedly turned to a campaign of “race baiting” in order to lure workers at Nissan’s plant in Canton, Mississippi into the UAW.
In an article posted on the leftist Facing South, the UAW’s Sanchioni L. Butler (a national organizer now working full-time in Mississippi) stated the UAW is banking on the fact that more African Americans are susceptible to unionization than are whites.
Working in UAW’s favor this go-around is the workforce at the Nissan plant, which is estimated to be 80 percent African-American, Butler said. That’s the exact reverse of the Smyrna plant. African-Americans have traditionally been more inclined to vote unions than Southern whites.
Thus far, unlike German-owned Volkswagen, Nissan’s management has not agreed to aid, abet, nor give comfort to the UAW’s efforts to unionize its workforce by signing onto UAW boss Bob King’s version of a “neutrality agreement.”
As a result, as Bob King threatened several years ago, the UAW has embarked on a campaign to “shame” Nissan into acquiescence.
To aid in its efforts to unionize Nissan’s predominantly black workforce, the UAW paid the NAACP to issue a 47-page report [in PDF] critical of Nissan’s desire to remain union-free.
In addition to enlisting the NAACP, the UAW has turned to actor-turned-left-wing activist Danny Glover, as well as rapper Common, who performed last Friday at a free concert.
By video, Sean “Diddy” Combs lent his name to the UAW’s efforts to unionize the plant.
Sean “Diddy” Combs is adding his support those seeking a union at Nissan Motor Co.
Combs endorsed the effort by video at a free pro-union concert by rapper Common Friday night at Jackson State University.
The UAW is trying to organize the 5,200-worker Canton, Miss., plant. Employees have yet to file a petition for a union election.
With Nissan’s 3,000 production workers (not including contract workers) averaging $24.47 an hour, and maintenance workers making $28.49, if their efforts are successful the UAW currently stands to reap millions in dues.
As dues are expected to increase 25% after the UAW’s June Convention, the UAW could rake in over $60 per month (or $733 per year) in union dues from each of Nissan’s production workers, and over $71 per month (or nearly $855 per year) from each maintenance worker.
For the UAW, this could mean well over $2 million per year in union dues.
The question remains: With time running out, will Nissan’s workers fall for the UAW’s celebrity-endorsed campaign before Bob King leaves office…or ever?
@mrdannyglover Thank you Danny for the awesome concert last night in Mississippi with @COMMON! #dobetter pic.twitter.com/pT7pAhlybz
— Do Better Together (@DoBetterNissan) March 22, 2014
Thank you for supporting worker rights at Nissan, Common! #dobetter pic.twitter.com/NkVrCtcKc6
— Do Better Together (@DoBetterNissan) March 22, 2014
