Washington, D.C. – Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley joined Senate colleagues Jan. 8 in a letter to 13 non-unionized automakers urging them to allow United Auto Workers’ (UAW) legally protected unionization efforts at their manufacturing plants. After the ratification of historic agreements between UAW and the Big Three automakers in Detroit, thousands of non-union autoworkers are publicly organizing to join the UAW.
“We are concerned by reporting at numerous automakers that management has acted illegally to block unionization efforts,” the senators wrote in a letter to the chief executive officers of Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. “…These retaliatory actions are hostile to workers’ rights and must not be repeated if further organizing efforts are made by these companies’ workers. We therefore urge you all to commit to implementation of a neutrality agreement at your manufacturing plants.”
“Your commitment to neutrality would ensure that management does not pressure workers into voting against unionization or delaying the election process. We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers’ rights, especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition,” they continued.
“All workers, no matter what states they live in, should have a free and unhindered opportunity to join a union. We strongly urge you to implement a neutrality agreement at all of your plants and commit to negotiating in good faith if your employees do elect to unionize with the UAW,” the senators concluded.
“Every autoworker in this country deserves their fair share of the auto industry’s record profits, whether at the Big Three or the Non-Union Thirteen. We applaud these US Senators for standing with workers who are standing up for economic justice on the job. It’s time for the auto companies to stop breaking the law and take their boot off the neck of the American autoworker, whether they’re at Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, or any other corporation doing business in this country,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
The letter was led by the U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Laphonza Butler (D-Calif.), andSherrod Brown (D-Ohio). Along with Wyden and Merkley, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) Brian Schatz (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.) Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Jack Reed (D-R.I.).
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