About 30 percent of the Toyota engine maker’s auto workers in Missouri have signed a union card, the United Auto Workers (UAW). announced on Wednesdaythe factory became the fourth new union movement to start in the past four months.
The plant in Troy, Missouri, outside St. Louis, follows union efforts in recent months at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee and the Mercedes and Hyundai manufacturers in Alabama.
The initiative comes after unions awarded significant benefits to their members after six weeks of strikes at three major automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, last fall. The UAW has expanded from its power base in the Midwest and is working to unionize factories across the country.
In a press release, Toyota employees cited unsafe working conditions, poor wages and difficulty in being fired as reasons for signing the cards.
“The company has a favorite slogan: One Toyota,” employee Jared Wede said in a statement. “Like Kentucky and Indiana, we have Toyota signs out front. But our salaries are nowhere near their salaries. We don’t know what the company is making. We know they can afford to pay us. By unionizing, we can win our fair share.”
Toyota Motor Corp. raised wages last year after the UAW reached agreements with three automakers to retain workers. The union is calling the move the “UAW bump.”
“When we saw the new contracts with the Big Three, that’s when we realized we needed a union,” employee Charles Lashley said in a statement. “It was incredible that UAW members were able to negotiate such benefits and salaries. I don’t see why they should be paid different wages.”
“Toyota is making more money than all of the Big Three. So there’s no reason for us to be this far behind,” he continued. “The company can’t exist without us. We should be paid the same. We can do that by organizing into a union.”
According to the UAW, more than 10,000 non-union members across the country have signed the card in recent months, and dozens of factories are organizing union drives in addition to the four already announced.
The union said it would not call for elections at any factory until 70% of employees have signed union cards. savebeproactive approach This makes the eventual union election more likely to be successful.
In a statement to The Hill, a Toyota spokesperson said, “We do not believe that the addition of a third party to our manufacturing facilities will improve the results, stability, or team member experience we have achieved together. “I haven’t.” “Given all the facts, we are confident that our team members will not elect union representation.”
Updated at 12:09 p.m.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
