America’s UAW union has enlisted the powerful backing of Hollywood actor, Danny Glover and South African union, NUMSA, in support of its campaign for improved labour representation at Nissan’s Mississippi plant.
UAW president, Bob King and Glover, were in Johannesburg today (30 May) as NUMSA’s (National Union of Metalworkers South Africa), backed the American stance that claims there is a lack of labour rights at Nissan’s US site.
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“The irony of this – and we want to point out the irony – is workers here in South Africa have union representation – workers in Brazil have representation and workers in Japan and Germany have representation,” Glover told just-auto from Johannesburg.
“We want a level playing field and have [a] union come in and present its case. I am supporting the campaign in Mississippi with Nissan workers – we have certainly the support of unions here [South Africa] with NUMSA and COSATU supporting the campaign.”
The Hollywood star and the UAW have maintained consistent pressure since the Detroit auto show earlier this year, where both delivered a similar message to Nissan outside the event’s exhibition halls, backed by civil rights activists, politicians and Baptist Ministers.
“Workers in Mississippi are like workers in the third world,” NUMSA president, Cedric Gina, told just-auto. “They have no basic rights.
“The meeting is about supporting the workers of Nissan in Mississippi.”
Nissan was not immediately available for comment from Tennessee, but the automaker has previously insisted the UAW’s claims are unfounded.
“Nissan employees in Canton enjoy jobs that are among the most secure in Mississippi and offer some of the highest manufacturing wages in the state, strong benefits, a working environment that exceeds industry standards and an open dialogue based on transparency and mutual respect,” said the manufacturer.
“Nissan employees have voted overwhelmingly in the past to reject union representation, and just as with past efforts, the UAW’s current campaign in Canton, Mississippi, has received little interest among employees.”
Despite the union stance, Glover nonetheless added he viewed Nissan products as “great” and although the campaign had not been in direct contact with the automaker, it had written to the CEO.
“It is not an attack on the product itself,” said Glover. “We are hoping to gain momentum and gain support of key officials here [South Africa] in terms of pressing the global management of Nissan.”
