Workers who produce hot stamping and conventional stamped parts for General Motors, Tesla and Stellantis at a plant in suburban Detroit voted 42 to 37 to join the UAW, the union said.
The UAW said in a statement Tuesday that the workers at GNS North America in Canton, Mich., voted Feb. 20 to become part of UAW Local 900, Region 1A.
The 110 workers at GNS create structural parts, roof enforcements, bumper components, B-pillars and door beams. GNS North America has additional plants in Holland, Mich., and Mexico.
Efforts to reach a spokesperson for GNS North America were unsuccessful.
Ralph Morris, organizing coordinator for UAW Region 1A, said management used intimidating tactics to oppose the union drive.
“The company hired what they call union busters, or direct persuaders, and they held captive audience meetings, forced the workers to attend these meetings,” he told Automotive News on Tuesday. “And we’re on the line and calling them into the office one on one, and anti-union rhetoric you know about union dues, about losing things in the contract, talking about layoffs, plant closings, strikes, and stuff like that.”
Morris said the win for UAW gaining GNS members is a part of the broader movement for auto workers to have a better workplace experience.
The UAW in November won major boosts in pay and benefits from the Detroit 3 automakers following selective strikes at several key U.S. plants. Since then, the UAW has ramped up organizing drives at nonunion automakers such as Volkswagen Group in Tennessee and Mercedes-Benz in Alabama.
North American suppliers are worried about rising labor costs stemming from the UAW’s lucrative new contracts.
Said the UAW’s Morris: “The corporations keep making more money, and workers are being left behind and treated like a commodity. So, it’s just workers saying we want to be treated with respect.”