Striking UAW members picket GM's Lansing Delta plant in Delta Township, Michigan, on September 29, 2023.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
DETROIT — Six Republican governors on Tuesday condemned the United Auto Workers' campaign to organize auto plants in the South, warning that the union's efforts could lead to layoffs and reduce future investment.
The joint statement — signed by the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas — comes one day before Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, begin voting on whether to join the UAW.
VW's vote is part of an unprecedented labor organizing campaign announced by UAW President Sean Fine last year targeting 13 automakers operating in Southern states and elsewhere. Last year the union negotiated record contracts with General Motors, ford motor And parent company Chrysler Stellantis.
State elected leaders, including Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, say such contracts provide short-term assistance but have negative long-term effects on jobs and investments.
“We have worked tirelessly on behalf of our constituents to bring good-paying jobs to our states. These jobs have become part of the fabric of the auto manufacturing industry. Unionization would certainly put our states’ jobs at risk — in fact, already this year, all Auto industry UAW announces layoffs.
Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee, smiles during the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Dallas, Texas, US, on Saturday, July 10, 2021.
Dylan Hollingsworth | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The UAW, which is also organizing a vote for Mercedes-Benz workers in Alabama, did not immediately respond for comment.
Since the ratification of UAW contracts with Detroit automakers, there have been buyout offers, as well as layoffs of salaried and hourly workers at the companies.
Automakers have cut costs in part to invest billions in fully electric vehicles, as well as bracing for slowing market conditions and fears of an economic downturn.
Stellantis — the product of the January 2021 merger between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe — led the cuts, but many of them were additional or temporary workers who don't get the same wages or benefits as traditional assembly plant workers. Under trades.
The transatlantic automaker has reportedly cut more than 1,000 additional workers this year, citing a review of its manufacturing operations “to ensure that all facilities operate as efficiently as possible in very challenging market conditions with all procedures in accordance with the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement” with UAW. It also reduced shifts at at least two Jeep plants, citing the complexity of the agreements among other reasons.
United Auto Workers President Sean Fine testifies about the toll hours work takes on workers before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on March 14, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images
stronghold It offered voluntary buyouts to its workers and announced layoffs, but many of its laid-off workers were transferred to other nearby facilities.
GM also offers voluntary buyouts, although post-contract layoffs largely, if not entirely, deal with plant changes. For example, the company laid off 1,300 workers in Michigan because vehicle production ended at two plants.
In addition to Lee in Tennessee, other Republican governors signed the statement: Alabama Governor Kay Ivey, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, and Texas Governor Greg Abbott.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect that Tate Reeves is the governor of Mississippi. An earlier version misdescribed the condition.
