The United Auto Workers (UAW), fresh off negotiating record labor contracts with the Big Three Detroit automakers, filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Honda Motor (NYSE:HMC), Hyundai and Volkswagen Group (XETRA:VOW) on Monday.
The UAW alleged that a Honda facility in Indiana, a Hyundai plant in Alabama, and a Volkswagen facility in Tennessee have engaged in “union-busting as workers organize to join the UAW,” the union said.
The alleged practices include surveillance of workers in Honda’s case and barring “pro-union materials in non-work areas during non-work times” in the case of Hyundai.
Volkswagen, the most egregious offender according to the UAW, has “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,” according to the statement.
These actions all occurred during the last six months, according to the filings.
UAW president Shawn Fain, who led the company’s negotiations with Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis NV (NYSE:STLA, EPA:STLA), said he intends to expand the union’s fight to the 'Big Five or Bix Six' during the duration of the current Big Three contracts, which run until April 2028.
“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,” Fain said in a statement. “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.”
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