The United Auto Workers (UAW) said on Wednesday in a video announcement that it would be starting organization efforts at 13 new automakers.
The UAW is looking to unionize at American electric vehicle manufacturers Lucid, Rivian and Tesla as well as foreign automakers with plants in the U.S., BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Mazda, Mercedes, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo, according to the announcement from the union. The push for unionization follows a major agreement with the Big Three automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — that was ratified in November following a six-week partial strike. (RELATED: Biden Regulator Launches Investigation Into Automakers Over Fire Risk For Six Million Vehicles)
“If you’re an autoworker in this country, it’s time to stand up,” Shawn Fain, president of the UAW, said in the announcement. “Everywhere you look in the auto industry, corporate profits are soaring and workers wages are falling behind. We’ve shown the world that this industry is harming workers and consumers to the benefit of company executives and the rich, and it’s time that the working class did something about it.”
UAW leadership has repeatedly pushed to expand broader union power in the U.S., with Fain calling for all unions to align their contract expiration dates to April 30, 2028, to increase bargaining power, according to Bloomberg Law.
The Big Three, due to their unionized workforces, have far higher labor costs than foreign automakers who largely operate in regions of the U.S. with weaker labor laws like the American south. The cost per worker is estimated to jump to $90 per hour at the Big Three, compared to Tesla and foreign car companies operating in the U.S., which average $45 to $55 per hour, absent any recent increases.
It’s time.
From Toyota to Tesla, from California to South Carolina, America’s autoworkers are ready to Stand Up and win their fair share of the auto industry’s record profits.
Join us.https://t.co/AcFJW3wqhW pic.twitter.com/5HMOB0YN3j
— UAW (@UAW) November 29, 2023
Following the UAW deal with the Big Three, non-unionized automakers have been increasing their wages to come closer to the wages gained at the Big Three and quell unionization concerns, according to Reuters. Nissan recently announced it would raise U.S. worker wages by 10% in January, compared to the 25% that UAW workers will receive over the course of the contract ending in 2028.
“But it’s not just the Big Three; across the auto industry, CEOs are raking in billions while autoworkers real wages are falling,” Fain said in the announcement. “Car prices are through the roof, but workers can’t afford to buy the vehicles they make. Wall Street is making a killing, but our communities are being left behind.”
The UAW did not immediately respond to a request to comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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