UAW Accuses Honda, Hyundai, and VW of Unfair Labor Practices

The United Auto Workers (UAW) union has lodged accusations of unfair labor practices against three major automotive manufacturers — Honda Motor, Hyundai Motor, and Volkswagen. These allegations point toward the purported infringement of worker rights in relation to union organization, as announced by the UAW recently.

As per the UAW’s claims, the managerial teams at Honda’s Greensburg, Indiana, plant; Hyundai’s Montgomery, Alabama, facility; and Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, unit have been illegally impeding workers’ attempts to unionize under the UAW banner.

“These companies are breaking the law in an attempt to get autoworkers to sit down and shut up instead of fighting for their fair share. But these workers are showing management that they won’t be intimidated out of their right to speak up and organize for a better life.”

Shawn Fain, UAW president, via CNBC

The UAW has accused Volkswagen of having “harassed and threatened workers for talking about the union; confiscated and destroyed pro-union materials in the break room; attempted to intimidate and illegally silence pro-union workers; and has attempted to illegally prohibit workers from distributing union literature and discussing union issues in non-work areas on non-work time.”

Honda and Hyundai have firmly denied these allegations, while Volkswagen has opted for a more neutral stance, emphasizing its commitment to a thorough investigation of such significant charges. The alleged malpractices include a range of activities, from covert surveillance of Honda workers to an outright prohibition and destruction of pro-union materials at Hyundai’s facility during non-working hours.

A Honda spokesperson stated in an email, “Honda encourages our associates to engage and get information on this issue. We have not and would not interfere with our associates’ right to engage in activity supporting or opposing the UAW.” Hyundai also made a statement, saying, “The union’s characterization of events in its press statement do not present an accurate picture, and we look forward to having a fair opportunity to resent the facts through our participation in the legal process.”

These accusations have been corroborated by documents provided by the UAW to CNBC, although the filings were yet to be publicly available on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) website. The alleged offenses are reported to have taken place over the past six months, as stated in the filings drawn up by Benjamin Dictor, an attorney from New York-based law firm Eisner Dictor & Lamadrid.

This development is hot on the heels of the UAW’s recent announcement of an ambitious campaign to organize workers at 13 nonunion automakers in the U.S., following the union’s successful negotiations of record contracts with the three Detroit automakers: General Motors, Ford Motor, and Stellantis.

During a recent webcast, the UAW shared more details about its new organizing strategy. They introduced a “30-50-70” strategy, outlining the different stages of union organizing based on the percentage of workers supporting the move. The UAW is scaling up its ambitions from the traditional “Big Three” to potentially what could be a “Big Five or Big Six,” hoping to significantly expand its reach before the current contracts with Detroit automakers expire in April 2028.

Despite UAW membership having dwindled from about 700,000 in 2001 to 383,000 in 2023, the UAW seems determined to reinvigorate its presence across the industry.