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17 January, 2000The United Auto Workers' union has announced that 1999 was one of their most successful organising years ever.
USA: In 1999, the United Auto Workers' union gained more than 42,000 potential new members through representation elections, card checks and affiliations, in organising drives in every region in the country and every sector. The UAW's president, Steve Yokich, commented that "we beat our 1985 record when we brought in nearly 35,000 new members, including more than 22,000 Michigan state employees." Yokich said it could not have been done without hundreds of UAW members who went out as volunteer organisers, because "there's nothing more effective than worker-to-worker communication."
In a UAW news release, the union stated that it won 60 out of 99 representation elections last year, with a 60.6 per cent success rate, which was more than 10 percentage points above the national average. The election wins covered approximately 30,169 workers. Their single largest election victory was in Puerto Rico, where the Department of Education's 10,000 school cafeteria workers voted overwhelmingly for UAW representation.
The UAW won 27 elections in the automotive parts supplier sector, and their ranks in the health care sector, social services, city and county government, new car dealerships and various manufacturers continued to grow in 1999, with a victory also at a BMW of North America parts distribution center.
The union says that in the vast majority of representation elections, workers are "bombarded with anti-union propaganda, threats, intimidation and false promises by management," and it has been estimated that 10,000 American workers illegally lose their jobs each year for having supported union organising drives.
For more details, click on the link to the UAW's website news release.
In a UAW news release, the union stated that it won 60 out of 99 representation elections last year, with a 60.6 per cent success rate, which was more than 10 percentage points above the national average. The election wins covered approximately 30,169 workers. Their single largest election victory was in Puerto Rico, where the Department of Education's 10,000 school cafeteria workers voted overwhelmingly for UAW representation.
The UAW won 27 elections in the automotive parts supplier sector, and their ranks in the health care sector, social services, city and county government, new car dealerships and various manufacturers continued to grow in 1999, with a victory also at a BMW of North America parts distribution center.
The union says that in the vast majority of representation elections, workers are "bombarded with anti-union propaganda, threats, intimidation and false promises by management," and it has been estimated that 10,000 American workers illegally lose their jobs each year for having supported union organising drives.
For more details, click on the link to the UAW's website news release.