Read this article in:
16 January, 2002With the strong support of sister unions in France and the decision of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board, the UAW will negotiate its first agreement with the French-owned multinational.
USA/FRANCE: The United Auto Workers' union (UAW) and the North American regional office of the International Federation of Chemical, Energy, Mine and General Workers' Unions (ICEM) reported on January 16 that Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc. will be starting collective bargaining talks with the UAW for a first agreement covering 850 workers at the company's plant in Worcester, Massachusetts.
This action follows a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify the UAW as the workers' bargaining agent, denying a request by Saint-Gobain to throw out the results of an election last August in which the majority of the workers at the Worcester plant voted in favour of UAW representation.
As Saint-Gobain Abrasives is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French Groupe Saint-Gobain, one of the world's leading glass, ceramics and materials companies, employing some 171,000 people in 45 countries, the UAW was assisted in its campaign by the two French unions which represent Saint-Gobain workers in France, as well as by the ICEM.
This action follows a decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to certify the UAW as the workers' bargaining agent, denying a request by Saint-Gobain to throw out the results of an election last August in which the majority of the workers at the Worcester plant voted in favour of UAW representation.
As Saint-Gobain Abrasives is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the French Groupe Saint-Gobain, one of the world's leading glass, ceramics and materials companies, employing some 171,000 people in 45 countries, the UAW was assisted in its campaign by the two French unions which represent Saint-Gobain workers in France, as well as by the ICEM.