UAW Nissan vote in Mississippi: Labor board says Nissan broke the law

Published 5:06 pm Monday, July 31, 2017

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — With a union election scheduled this week, the National Labor Relations Board is again charging that Nissan Motor Co. violated workers’ rights at its Mississippi plant.

The board said Friday that a supervisor on March 30 threatened employees by saying they would lose money or the plant would close if workers supported unionization. The claim amends an earlier complaint. No hearing is yet scheduled.

Nissan denies the charge.

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The allegations predate employees filing for this week’s vote on whether the United Auto Workers should represent 3,700 workers in Canton. UAW Secretary-Treasurer Gary Casteel says Nissan continues behaving illegally to intimidate workers. The union hasn’t filed new charges with the labor board.

Plant human resources director Rodney Francis denies Nissan acts illegally, saying Nissan may communicate its anti-union position to workers.