The United Auto Workers union said Monday it has filed unfair labor practice complaints with the National Labor Relations Board against three automakers in the U.S., as it campaigns to add workers at non-union auto plants to its ranks.
During a Facebook Live event, UAW President Shawn Fain said the union has received hundreds of union cards from workers at non-unionized auto plants, after the UAW won favorable contracts from GM, Ford, and Stellantis following a six-week strike.
He said non-union automakers raised wages right after the strike, to try to stave off a union push — and now, they're breaking national labor laws to thwart it.
The NLRB complaint against Volkswagen says managers prohibited employees from discussing unionization during working time and restricted employees from distributing union materials.
The union's complaint against Honda says managers instructed employees not to wear union insignia, and threatened more onerous working conditions for employees who expressed support for the union.
The complaint against Hyundai says managers told workers they could not distribute union materials in non-work areas, and they also confiscated those materials. The UAW also accuses Hyundai of polling workers about their support for the union.
All these activities are illegal under national labor laws, said Fain.
"These companies are more than willing to break the law if it means protecting their bottom line from the workers," Fain said. "They'll lie, cheat, steal — they'll intimidate. They'll surveil people and they'll coerce, and then out of the other side of their mouth they'll tell you 'we're a family.'"
According to the New York Times, Volkswagen said it takes such accusations seriously, and it will investigate the matter, and Honda said it hasn't interfered with associates' activities supporting or opposing the UAW.
Hyundai hasn't yet responded.
