U.S. labor secretary says UAW win at Tennessee Volkswagen plant shows southern workers back unions

ATLANTA -- Workers astatine car plants successful the South should beryllium escaped to unionize without unit from employers oregon anti-union governors, acting U.S. Labor Secretary Julie Su said Thursday, adjacent arsenic immoderate confederate states walk laws to inhibit organized labor.

“That prime belongs to the worker, escaped from intervention, either by the leader oregon by politicians, escaped from retaliation and threats,” Su told The Associated Press successful an interrogation Thursday successful Atlanta. "And what we are seeing is that workers who were thought to beryllium excessively susceptible to asseverate that close are doing it, and they’re doing it present successful the South.”

The United Auto Workers national vowed a wide run to signifier confederate car assembly plants aft winning lucrative caller contracts successful a confrontation with Detroit's automakers. Last week, 73% of those voting astatine a Volkswagen AG works successful Chattanooga, Tennessee chose to articulation the UAW. It was the union’s archetypal successful a Southern assembly works owned by a overseas automaker.

Workers astatine Mercedes factories successful Tuscaloosa, Alabama, volition ballot connected UAW practice successful May, and the institution has besides targeted plants successful Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas.

But governmental and concern leaders successful confederate states person agelong fought organized labor. Ahead of the Volkswagen vote, six Southern Republican governors criticized the UAW’s organizing drive, arguing that autoworkers who ballot for national practice would jeopardize jobs. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee connected Monday called the national ballot “a mistake” and “a nonaccomplishment for workers.”

Ford Motor Co. CEO Jim Farley said successful February that his institution volition “think carefully” astir wherever it volition physique caller vehicles aft the UAW's onslaught past year. If the UAW organizes different automakers, it could rise their costs, starring them to physique much vehicles extracurricular the United States. But Su said President Joe Biden's medication is focused connected supporting jobs successful the country, noting grants to automakers to enactment a modulation to electrical vehicles.

“So the car manufacture is an iconic American industry,” Su said earlier speaking to the African American Mayors Association. "We privation to marque definite that employers who bash close by their workers, who travel to the bargaining array successful bully faith, who negociate just contracts, tin besides thrive and nett by utilizing U.S. workers.”

Biden is backing unions successful different ways. Su noted the medication successful January finalized a regularisation mandating unionized labour connected each national operation projects costing much than $35 million, contempt complaints from nonunion contractors that the regularisation reduces contention and increases costs.

“That’s 1 mode that we guarantee that you've got bully national workers connected jobs," Su said, saying national labour agreements are rising sharply connected operation projects.

Southern states are besides pushing laws that would claw backmost economical inducement dollars if companies admit unions without requiring a concealed ballot election. Every large confederate car works has received authorities economical improvement assistance.

Federal instrumentality besides allows employers to admit unions if a bulk of workers instrumentality signed cards authorizing unions to correspond them, a process known arsenic paper check. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed specified a instrumentality Monday; Lee signed 1 successful Tennessee past year. Alabama lawmakers are advancing specified a measure.

Supporters judge unions tin unfairly unit workers into signing cards, portion employers person a amended accidental of defeating unions successful concealed ballot elections. But those who enactment unions reason the laws interruption the National Labor Relations Act, which allows voluntary recognition. They besides accidental that employers usage concealed ballot elections to scare workers distant from unions.

Su said she's not definite if the Labor Department volition question to situation the laws, noting the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees national affairs, has superior responsibility. But she said that “there are national standards beneath which nary idiosyncratic should person to unrecorded and work.”

Su besides decried national busting enactment by employers, calling it “unacceptable." She cited a 2017 survey that showed astir fractional of American workers would ballot to unionize if they had the opportunity.

“This is portion of President Biden’s committedness to halfway workers successful the economy," Su said. "He has said he's the astir pro-worker, pro-union president successful history, and we are going to marque bully connected that promise. And that includes making definite that workers person the close to articulation a union.”