Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) joined 30 of their colleagues in a letter to 13 non-unionized automakers urging them not to illegally block United Auto Workers’ (UAW) unionization efforts at their manufacturing plants. After the ratification of historic agreements between UAW and the Big Three automakers in Detroit, thousands of non-union autoworkers are publicly organizing to join the UAW.
“We are concerned by reporting at numerous automakers that management has acted illegally to block unionization efforts,” the Senators wrote in a letter to the chief executive officers of Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo. “…These retaliatory actions are hostile to workers’ rights and must not be repeated if further organizing efforts are made by these companies’ workers. We therefore urge you all to commit to implementation of a neutrality agreement at your manufacturing plants.”
“Your commitment to neutrality would ensure that management does not pressure workers into voting against unionization or delaying the election process. We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers’ rights, especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition,” they continued.
“All workers, no matter what states they live in, should have a free and unhindered opportunity to join a union. We strongly urge you to implement a neutrality agreement at all of your plants and commit to negotiating in good faith if your employees do elect to unionize with the UAW,” the senators concluded.
“Every autoworker in this country deserves their fair share of the auto industry’s record profits, whether at the Big Three or the Non-Union Thirteen. We applaud these US Senators for standing with workers who are standing up for economic justice on the job. It’s time for the auto companies to stop breaking the law and take their boot off the neck of the American autoworker, whether they’re at Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, or any other corporation doing business in this country,” said UAW President Shawn Fain.
Senator Casey, as an original cosponsor of the PRO Act to expand workers’ rights to collectively bargain in the workplace and a staunch fighter for raising the minimum wage, has long stood in solidarity with American workers’ fight for better wages and working conditions. In March 2023, Casey authored legislation that would strip tax breaks from companies that interfere with their workers’ right to organize and bargain collectively. In June, Senator Casey delivered a rousing speech to union workers and business leaders in Pittsburgh to outline his vision for the United States to take control of its economic future by investing in American workers and manufacturing, as well as stopping investments in national security sectors from going to countries of concern, including China. In September 2023, when autoworkers at Stellantis, Ford, and General Motors began their strike for their fair share, Casey joined them on at the picket line and declared that, “Pennsylvania is a union state, and these workers will be heard.” Casey has stood with Scranton schoolteachers seeking a better pay after years without a raise and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to protect the pensions of reporters and their colleagues; machine and tech workers, plasterers and cement masons; and steel and autoworkers. He’s worked to ensure that new investments from the infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act create good-paying, union jobs in both major cities and rural communities. In November 2023, Casey defended Pennsylvania manufacturers and workers against a Treasury Department guidance that would undercut American production.
Senator Fetterman has long been a vocal advocate for the union way of life and against corporate greed. In addition to joining striking UE workers at Wabtec in Erie and five different UAW picket lines, he has consistently expressed support for workers fighting for recognition and their fair share, including striking Post-Gazette workers in Pittsburgh, Teamsters at UPS, writers with WGA, and performers with SAG-AFTRA. He has also used his legislative power to protect and expand the rights of organized labor, most notably introducing the Food Secure Strikers Act of 2023, legislation to allow striking workers to qualify for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. He is also fighting to preserve the union way of life through the PRO Act and to raise the minimum wage to at least $17 per hour with the Raise the Wage Act of 2023.
Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Laphonza Butler (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (D-VT), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tina Smith (D-MN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) also joined in signing the letter.
Read the full text of the letter to the CEOs of 13 non-unionized automakers here and below.
January 4, 2024
Dear Mr. Zipse, Mr. Mibe, Mr. Muñoz, Mr. Rawlinson, Mr. Moro, Mr. Källenius, Mr. Uchida, Mr. Saringe, Mr. Osaki, Mr. Musk, Mr. Sat?, Dr. Blume, Mr. Rowan:
We applaud the United Auto Workers’ (UAW) historic agreements with GM, Ford, and Stellantis—the Big Three—which are a testament to how powerful workers are when they come together to collectively bargain. Many workers had concerns that the transition to electric vehicles would translate to fewer jobs, plant closures, or lower pay. However, the UAW’s securing of a just transition ensures workers at electric vehicle battery plants can earn the same high wages other UAW members earn. It further demonstrates that the electric vehicle transition can and must create good-paying jobs. It is time now for non-union automakers across the United States to demonstrate that same commitment by pledging not to interfere in any organizing activities occurring at its plants through the implementation of neutrality agreements.
We understand that UAW has begun organizing efforts at 13 non-unionized automakers: Tesla, Rivian, Lucid, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Subaru, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo Cars. We are concerned by reporting at numerous automakers that management has acted illegally to block unionization efforts. For example, according to employee accounts, Volkswagen managers confiscated and destroyed pro-union materials and Hyundai supervisors unlawfully banned pro-union materials in non-work areas outside of normal working hours. In addition, the National Labor Relations Board found that Tesla employed multiple illegal tactics aimed at stopping organizing efforts including online harassment, employee interrogations, and retaliatory firings. These retaliatory actions are hostile to workers’ rights and must not be repeated if further organizing efforts are made by these companies’ workers. We therefore urge you to commit to implementation of a neutrality agreement at your manufacturing plants.
A neutrality agreement solely consists of an employer agreeing not to engage in pre-election activities that influence workers’ freedom to form a union. Your commitment to neutrality would ensure that management does not pressure workers into voting against unionization or delaying the election process. We believe a neutrality agreement is the bare minimum standard manufacturers should meet in respecting workers’ rights, especially as companies receive and benefit from federal funds related to the electric vehicle transition.
The Inflation Reduction Act is the most significant clean energy and climate change legislation in our nation’s history. However, in order for the electric vehicle transition to be a success for our economy and climate, we must make sure it includes a just transition for workers, not just for workers at the Big Three. We believe the electric vehicle transition will not and cannot come at the expense of workers’ ability to form a union and collectively bargain for the fair wages, affordable health care, dignified retirement, and job security necessary for the continued strength of the U.S. auto industry. All workers, no matter what states they live in, should have a free and unhindered opportunity to join a union. We strongly urge you to implement a neutrality agreement at your plants and commit to negotiating in good faith if your employees do elect to unionize with the UAW.
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