Nissan USA interferes in union campaign

USA: IMF general secretary, Marcello Malentacchi, has written to Nissan management in Smyrna, Tennessee, to "correct the record" following a management memorandum to all employees at the Smyrna plant which tries to dissuade the workers from voting in favour of the United Auto Workers' union. A union election is taking place on October 3, and the UAW hopes to win the necessary 50 per cent plus 1 of the votes in order to be recognised as the Nissan workers' representative.
To begin with, says Malentacchi in his letter of September 27 to Nissan manager Greg Pinson, "I was shocked at the misrepresentations [in the memo] dealing with unions at Nissan plants in foreign countries. At a time when America and the entire world should be pulling together to cope with recent tragic events, Nissan management's hostile attack on one of America's great unions is appalling." The IMF general secretary reminds Pinson that Nissan assembly workers in most countries around the world are represented by unions, which includes Japan, France, Great Britain, South Africa, Thailand, Mexico, Spain, Taiwan, and a number of others. "This should prove, beyond any doubt," writes Malentacchi, "that Nissan management can function quite effectively in a union environment. I have met with Nissan workers in each of these countries and it's clear that they view union representation as the key to winning better wages, working conditions, and job security."
Secondly, the IMF general secretary states his amazement at the blatant, false claim in the Nissan memo that "the socialist governments of Britain and France require large plants to have unions." The facts are:

• British labour law does NOT require large or small plants to have unions. If 50% plus one of the workers choose to join the union, then recognition is granted automatically. Or, if 10% of the workers join a union, then a representation election can occur. The union must win both a majority in the ballot and get "yes" votes from at least 40% of those eligible to vote. It was during the time the Conservative Party of Margaret Thatcher was in power, not the socialists, that the Amalgamated Engineering Union came to represent the British Nissan workers.
  
• In France, neither large nor small plants are required to have unions. Indeed, no French worker can be required to join a union. But at Renault, the French automaker that owns Nissan, many workers belong because unions have proven very effective in negotiating improvements for autoworkers. France does require many companies to have Works Councils, which perform valuable consultative functions but legally do not bargain for the workers.
  

As a third point, Malentacchi refers to Pinson's argument that in Europe workers have the protection of laws that provide for vacations and paid time off, health insurance, and other benefits that are not negotiated. "This," says Malentacchi, "is the one issue on which you are correct. But here you're making an argument IN FAVOR of voting for the UAW. Because America doesn't provide for such benefits through law, the company is free to provide only those it chooses -- RATHER than those negotiated by workers through their union.
"Fourthly, you have seriously misrepresented the nature of unions in Japan. They are organised on a company basis, including Nissan, but those enterprise unions then all affiliate to the Japanese Auto Workers (JAW) union confederation. The Nissan union and the JAW to which it belongs both have a very close and positive relationship with the UAW. As an international trade union leader, I have seen firsthand the high level of respect enjoyed by the UAW by both U.S. and foreign-based companies with which it cooperates. The UAW has been extraordinarily effective at representing its members, but time and time again it has done so by working effectively with company management to advance mutual interests."