Workers in the South are getting more energized and the DOL Secretary is taking note.
“Pro-business state leadership and federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act have allowed Georgia to lure automakers, including EV manufacturers, to the state. The move has highlighted a lack of union representation in the state in an industry with a long history of labor ties.
After a win in Tennessee, United Auto Workers will move on to Alabama next month, where they will continue pushing to organize thousands of nonunion employees in the South, including Georgia.
‘It doesn’t matter whether it’s battery plants, Hyundai, or whatever. The workers are fired up, fed up, and tired of low wages and lack of health care benefits,’ said Tim Smith, the UAW Region 8 Director, which includes Georgia.
The labor union is fighting an uphill battle in Georgia, where the workforce has a union membership rate of around 5%. Meanwhile, Republican state leaders say union representation is unnecessary and have moved forward with legislation that some say makes it harder to organize.
United States Secretary of Labor Julie Su visited Atlanta this week for the African American Mayors Conference, stating that it was important for her to attend.
‘This is very much a part of President Biden’s vision. We know that we do our best work. And we do it in partnership, including with leaders on the ground, who are making things happen every single day in communities across the country,’ said Su.
We are seeing Republican-led states introduce legislation that union leaders say they’ll take to court because it violates their federally protected right to organize.”
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