US civil rights workers are evoking the legacy of Nelson Mandela in their battle to secure what they claim is a lack of worker representation at Nissan’s Canton plant in Mississippi.

A battle royal is raging between the UAW, civil rights workers and Nissan, surrounding the controversial issue of labour organisation at the southern American plant.

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UAW president, Bob King, recently told just-auto on the sidelines of the Automotive News World Congress in Detroit: “There never has been a vote in that plant,” a situation Nissan vehemently counters with its assertion staff had “voted overwhelmingly in the past” to reject union representation.

“While you have a beautiful car, you have an ugly workplace, a happy worker is a productive worker,” said NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People) Detroit president, Reverend Wendell Anthony. “Is there a difference between a Mississippian and a South African?

“They acknowledged Nelson Mandela and what he did, but one of the first places [he] came to when he left prison after 27 years was to Detroit and he worked with the UAW. I helped to organise his visit.

“For Nissan to organise South Africa, but at the same time not to allow to organise in Mississippi, something is wrong. Nissan should take a lesson in partnership from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.”

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Nissan was not immediately available for comment, but remarks sent to just-auto by the automaker during the Detroit Auto Show insist claims by the UAW are “unfounded,” with the automaker adding: “Our history reflects we respect the right of our employees to decide who should represent them.

“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.”

The issue has moved beyond US shores with representatives from French unions, CFDT,CFE-CGC, CGT, Force Ouvriere and pan-European labour body, Industriall, recently at the Bourse du Travail in Paris, with the UAW, Canton workers and American clergy to support the campaign.

“Detroit is the birthplace of labour – it is the home of the auto industry of the world,” said Anthony.

“We hope Nissan will get this message – why are you afraid to allow people to simply organise?”