Union pressure continues to shape the future of the state’s vibrant auto manufacturing sector – Lawrence County Press

Author: Sid Salter

After winning 73% of the vote among workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on April 19 to join the United Auto Workers union, organized labor leaders began to predict a growing erosion of the Southern state’s decades-long opposition to union membership. In particular, union leaders began predicting victory in the upcoming union vote at Mercedes plants in Vance and Woodstock, Alabama.

However, auto workers in Alabama rejected the UAW with a 56% anti-union vote, thus showing that much of the pro-union momentum projected by the UAW in the South may be greatly exaggerated.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2023 that “union membership in the South is declining, with data showing that the unionization rate in the South was 4.5%, more than 8 percentage points lower than the national average. South Carolina had the lowest union membership rate in the nation at 2.3%.

“Some Southern states, such as Florida, Mississippi, Virginia and Louisiana, have seen declines in union density. “Unions in the South face many challenges, including a culture opposed to collective bargaining, anti-rights-to-work laws and political leaders hostile to unions,” the agency said.

Mississippi is indeed a right-to-work state. However, according to the Mississippi Development Authority, this status does not prevent Mississippi from succeeding in developing auto manufacturing companies that have produced half a million new vehicles annually over the past 20 years.

Jennifer Safavian, president and CEO of Autos Drive America, made the case for the future of Mississippi’s auto industry after announcing additional EV production commitments: “In 2022, international automakers added 32,000 good-paying jobs in the Magnolia State, generating Total employee compensation is $2.1 billion. According to EIR data, Autos Drive America member companies such as Nissan and Toyota invested a total of $5.2 billion in the state last year and also generated $415 million in state and local taxes.

“Numbers like these demonstrate the critical role that international automakers have played in supporting economic and workforce growth in Mississippi. In Blue Springs, where the Corolla has been produced for more than 10 years, Toyota employs 2,250 people and has invested $1.2 billion in local operations. But the impact goes far beyond Blue Springs, as Mississippi suppliers have created an additional 1,700 jobs and invested $200 million to support Toyota’s operations in the state,” Safavian wrote.

While Mississippi has had many economic development wins unrelated to the auto industry over the past few years, a new project is underway in Marshall County related to auto building, specifically electric truck manufacturing.

Mississippi lawmakers quickly and nearly unanimously approved a $482 million incentive package to build a $1.9 billion electric vehicle battery plant in Marshall County. Paccar, an engine company with an existing plant in Mississippi’s Golden Triangle, Accelera by Cummins Inc., an Indiana-based engine company, and Daimler Truck will partner to build a $1.9 billion electric vehicle battery plant on 500 acres at Chickasaw Trails Industrial Park in Marshall County.

For better or worse, unions are viewed as a partisan political force. Historically, labor unions have associated with and supported Democrats and Republicans. Campaign finance reports tell this story because unions have a history of supporting Democrats, and banks and corporations have a similar history of supporting Republicans.

The boundaries are clearly drawn at the federal level. Increasingly, these differences also translate into state policy. Regional and sectional concerns are coinciding with factional concerns about economic development in ways not seen half a century ago.

Economic development is already fraught with intense competition in the selection of locations. The presence of unions can and often does influence site selection decisions and can steer megaprojects across state lines. Conservative right-to-work states already tend to distrust unions through their legal structures.

Trade unions in the south continue to face difficult situations. Time will tell whether the Chattanooga UAW vote was an anomaly – after Mercedes’ recent vote in Alabama.

Sid Salter is a syndicated columnist. Contact him at [email protected].