Unionized Nissan Workers File Petition To Decertify The United Auto Workers
Nissan North America workers at a facility in New Jersey move to rid themselves of the UAW.
By Peter List, Editor | April 2, 2024
Unionized Nissan workers in New Jersey have filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold an election to decertify their union, the United Auto Workers (UAW).
The UAW-represented workers who work at a parts distribution warehouse in Somerset, New Jersey became unionized in 2020, according to the UAW magazine “Solidarity.”
The decertification effort by the workers at Nissan North America comes at a time when the UAW is seeking to unionize 13 foreign-owned auto manufacturers, including Nissan, mostly located in so-called Right-to-Work States.
The petition, which was filed on Monday, lists the potential voters to include “full-time and regular part-time warehouse operators employed at 1501 Cottontail Lane, Somerset, NJ 08873.”
The workers, according to the petition, are represented by the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation (NRTW), a non-for-profit organization that helps workers fight “coercive union power and compulsory unionism abuses through strategic litigation, public information, and education programs.”
“These workers are just the latest example of the growing interest among unionized employees in voting out incumbent union officials,” stated Patrick Semmens, Vice President of the NRTW. “We’re proud to assist them in exercising their legal right to request such a vote, and intend to defend their right to have the vote held promptly. If UAW officials care about the wishes of these workers, the union won’t oppose this election.”
“At a time when so much media attention is being paid to high-profile organizing efforts by the UAW, more interest should be given to the workers who have seen the union’s so-called ‘representation’ up close and personal, and now want nothing to do with it,” Semmens stated. “That not only includes this group of New Jersey Nissan employees, but also “Big 3” auto workers who recently protested at the UAW headquarters and say Shawn Fain’s lies led to their being laid off.”
The petition for the decertification election must still be processed by the NLRB regional office in Newark and may, in fact, be opposed by the UAW.
If the UAW does oppose the decertification efforts through legal maneuvering at the NLRB, it may delay the workers’ rights to kick the union out of their workplace for weeks, months, or even longer.
