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Cooper: Another ‘no’ for UAW

The UAW placed pro-union signs in front of anti-union signs before the vote of some 3,700 employees at the Nissan vehicle assembly plant last week in Canton, Miss.
The UAW placed pro-union signs in front of anti-union signs before the vote of some 3,700 employees at the Nissan vehicle assembly plant last week in Canton, Miss. The UAW placed pro-union signs in front of anti-union signs before the vote of some 3,700 employees at the Nissan vehicle assembly plant last week in Canton, Miss.

By Clint Cooper 5 min read

What part of “no” do automobile unions in the South not understand?

Auto workers at Nissan’s assembly plant in Canton, Miss., voted in a nearly 2-to-1 margin last week (2,244 to 1,307) to turn down an attempt by the United Auto Workers (UAW) to form a union.

The UAW’s organizing effort had been at least a decade in length and some say dated to 2003, when the plant opened. The NAACP, actor Danny Glover, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and local religious leaders and politicians all swooped in to lend their support.

It was a stunning defeat, considering that the union had predicted – not in so many words – that it would win.

So how did UAW President Dennis Williams describe it?