① On Wednesday, workers at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee in the US will vote to decide whether to join the American Federation of Auto Workers (UAW); ② On Tuesday, the governors of six US states, including Tennessee, issued a joint statement condemning the UAW's encouraging local workers to form trade unions and warning that it will lead to more layoffs and reduced investment.
Financial Services Association, April 17 (Editor Malan) Last year, the American Auto Workers Federation (UAW) still experienced the wonderful situation of the three major auto giants in Detroit. This year, automobile manufacturers in more regions were involved in the expansion process of the Auto Union, which also left many stakeholders unable to sit back.
The governors of the southern US states of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas signed a joint statement on Tuesday condemning the UAW's efforts to form trade unions in the South and warning that their actions could lead to factory layoffs and future investment in the region.
On Wednesday, workers at the Volkswagen factory in Tennessee, USA will begin voting to decide whether to join the UAW union. Meanwhile, there are 13 car manufacturers in the southern states and beyond, all of which are on the UAW's “hunt” list.
The governors of the six southern states agreed that the contract between the UAW and the automobile manufacturer, which was negotiated through a strike, raised workers' benefits in the short term, but cut local employment and investment in the long run.
In a joint statement, the governors pointed out that unionization will definitely put jobs in various states at risk. In fact, all UAW unionized car manufacturers have announced layoffs this year.
Car companies lay off workers one after another
Over the past two years, automakers have been cutting costs, partly because they need to invest billions of dollars in all-electric vehicles, which are inevitably tight; on the other hand, they are preparing ahead of time for slowing market demand and economic downturn.
Among them, Stellantis, who fought 300 rounds with the UAW last year, was the leading layoffs, and has already fired many supplementary or temporary workers. However, judging from the contract, the wages or benefits of these employees are not consistent with traditional assembly plant workers.
Stellantis has reportedly laid off more than 1,000 additional workers this year on the grounds that its manufacturing operations have been reviewed to ensure that all facilities operate as efficiently as possible. Additionally, the company has cut production shifts at least two of its plants.
Ford, another Detroit car manufacturer, also announced layoffs, but many of the laid-off workers were transferred to other Ford plants. GM, on the other hand, laid off 1,300 workers in Michigan because the two factories stopped producing cars.
Although the layoffs of these three giants are largely related to weak market demand and the macro environment, the UAW's strong demand for salary increases was also one of the triggers.
Volkswagen, which is currently in the voting vortex, said it respects workers' voting decisions. But the governors pointed out that they don't need to pay a third party (that is, a trade union), and then let the third party tell them what they can do.
It is worth pointing out that the six state governors that signed the joint declaration are all Republican, and the UAW operation has always been supported by Democratic President Joe Biden, so the other side of the UAW's trade union expansion campaign is also seen as an early bet on the current US election.