United Auto Workers seeks to unionize Tesla, BMW and other carmakers<p>Fresh off successful <a data-i13n="cpos:1;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/ford-reaches-a-tentative-agreement-with-striking-auto-workers-052421002.html">contract negotiations[/url] with Ford, GM and Stellantis, the United Auto Workers (UAW) is seeking to unionize 150,000 workers across 13 automakers including Tesla, BMW, Mercedes Benz and Hyundai, it <a data-i13n="cpos:2;pos:1" href="
https://uaw.org/thousands-autoworkers-launch-campaigns-join-uaw-dozen-automakers/">announced[/url]. "To all the autoworkers out there working without the benefits of a union: now it’s your turn," said UAW president Shawn Fain. </p>
<p>The UAW said the organizing drive covers "more than a dozen" non-union automakers. It notes that many use a mix of full-time, temporary and contract employees "to divide the workforce and depress wages." The union cited one example of a Hyundai assembly plant employee who worked for a subcontractor for eight years starting at $9.25 an hour before finally becoming a full-time Hyundai employee. </p>
<span id="end-legacy-contents"></span><p>Non-union automakers, including VW, Nissan, Hyundai, Honda, Toyota and Subaru <a data-i13n="cpos:3;pos:1" href="
https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/automakers-with-non-union-workforce-race-bump-pay-after-uaws-record-deals-2023-11-21/">raised wages[/url] after the UAW's negotiations with the big three. VW, for one, bumped them to $23.42 an hour, rising to a maximum of $32.40. However, they "lag far behind UAW autoworkers in wages, benefits and rights on the job," the union said.</p>
<p>The UAW helped workers win a 25 percent raise over four years with the big three automakers, with the highest-paid Ford workers now earning $83,000 per year for a 40-hour work week (around $42 per hour). The union also gained reinstatement of cost-of-living allowances, shorter progression periods to top wages and a quicker conversion of temporary to in-progression (full-time) employees. </p>
<p>Tesla employees have attempted to unionize the company before, and some <a data-i13n="cpos:4;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/tesla-fired-new-york-workers-in-retaliation-for-union-activity-complaint-alleges-113727293.html">alleged[/url] that the company fired them for that — though that claim was <a data-i13n="cpos:5;pos:1" href="
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-27/nlrb-dismisses-claim-elon-musk-s-tesla-fired-dozens-in-anti-union-retaliation?sref=10lNAhZ9">recently dismissed[/url] by the US National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). The NLRB has previously found that Tesla violated labor law by <a data-i13n="cpos:6;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/nlrb-tesla-violated-the-law-telling-employees-not-to-talk-about-pay-085124724.html">prohibiting employees[/url] from talking about workplace matters. Back in 2022, Elon Musk <a data-i13n="cpos:7;pos:1" href="
https://www.engadget.com/elon-musk-challenges-uaw-union-vote-tesla-california-factory-095755736.html">challenged the UAW[/url] to hold a vote at Tesla's California factory.</p>
<p>Other automakers aren't exempt from worker complaints, including startup Rivian. "The company likes to tell us we’re making the plane while flying it, and that explains a lot about the problems we have," said one Rivian chassis worker. "We have all sorts of safety issues. Turnover is terrible. Every group has a story about a new employee who did not make it to first break. The lack of safety, the low pay, the forced overtime, there are so many reasons we need to be union." </p>This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/united-auto-workers-seeks-to-unionize-tesla-bmw-and-other-carmakers-100555374.html?src=rssSource:
United Auto Workers seeks to unionize Tesla, BMW and other carmakers
