Former contract workers key in Mississippi Nissan union vote

FILE - In this April 6, 2016, file photograph, vehicles are suspended above other installation stations as they are moved along the assembly line at the Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant in Canton, Miss. A bid by workers at Mississippi's Nissan Motor Co. plant for United Auto Workers representation could turn on a key voting bloc: the 1,500 Nissan employees who were initially hired through contract labor agencies. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File) FILE - In this April 6, 2016, file photograph, vehicles are suspended above other installation stations as they are moved along the assembly line at the Nissan Canton Vehicle Assembly Plant in Canton, Miss. A bid by workers at Mississippi's Nissan Motor Co. plant for United Auto Workers representation could turn on a key voting bloc: the 1,500 Nissan employees who were initially hired through contract labor agencies. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

By Associated Press July 25, 2017 5 min read

CANTON, Miss. (AP) – A bid by workers at Mississippi’s Nissan Motor Co. plant for United Auto Workers representation could turn on a key voting bloc – 1,500 workers who are Nissan employees today, but were initially hired through contract labor agencies.

Those workers say they make less than longtime Nissan employees and have worse benefits, and UAW supporters say that’s a disparity they’d like to address through contract negotiations.

“I think it’s very unfair because we’re doing the same job,” said Shanta Butler, a union supporter who started as a contract worker at Nissan in April 2014. “I think we should be gradually allowed to make our way up to what they’re making.”

Nissan, for its part, refuses to discuss specific wage and benefit levels.

“Both Nissan technicians and associates enjoy long-term, stable jobs with some of the most competitive wages and benefits in Mississippi,” spokeswoman Parul Bajaj said in a statement.