MORAINE, Ohio—Workers at Fuyao Glass America voted against joining the United Auto Workers Nov. 9
by a 2-1 margin. The UAW had spent more than a year trying to organize the 1,600 workers at the Chinese-owned automotive-glass plant. “It was fairly shocking,” Fuyao worker Jeremy Grant, a UAW supporter, told the Dayton Daily News. “We were really confident.” Fuyao, which opened the plant three years ago in the shell of a former General Motors factory, called the UAW effort a “desperate attempt to prop up its revenue in the face of declining union membership worldwide.” The union said it might challenge the election on the grounds of irregularities. “It is disheartening to know that in 2017 there are companies willing to do so much to deny workers a voice and fair treatment,” UAW Region 2B director Rich Rankin said in a statement. Joe Allen, a historian and writer on labor issues, told the Daily News before the results were announced that a UAW loss in Moraine would look “devastating” for the union. “When the UAW can’t organize an auto-parts plant in Ohio… then what does the future hold for an auto union?” he asked. Read more
