Unions and Auto Dealers

Unions and Auto Dealers


Introduction. The present union organizing campaign is a sophisticated one.  Focusing on dealerships where a high percentage of employee sales are the target, the union, in an aggressive campaign pitches that it will steer additional sales toward the dealership. The union refers to the proposed arrangement as a "business partnership."  Those dealers who get in on the "ground floor" have the most to gain the Union will maintain.  The Union will say because it is important that any dealership partnering with it prosper, it is committed to making any business partnership a successful one.

Why a union is not in a dealership's best interest. Unions restrict the dealership in its need to be competitive and attract new customers.

  • Management loses rights to make decisions.
  • Contracts may restrict productivity.
  • Discipline policies are subject to union review and ultimately the more marginal employees gain job security at dealership expense.
  • Sometimes the best employees leave for a non-union shop.
  • The emphasis on seniority decreases initiative.
  • Classification of employees can diminish productivity.  Unions may make excessive demands.
  • Check-off of dues is cumbersome and, ultimately, is a cost passed on to the dealership.
  • Strikes are always costly.  They can be especially costly to a dealership that depends on employee sales.  The Union could hold strikes and conduct an economic boycott to obtain contract terms that may not be in a dealership's interest.

Causes of unionization.

  • Failure to properly screen applicants.
  • Failure to separate marginal employees.
  • Failure to maintain high standards for management as well as employees.
    • Failure of managers to show proper courtesy, respect and consideration.
    • Failure of managers to listen to and understand employees before deciding issues.
    • Failure to use constructive discipline.
  • Change in work schedules and assignments without warning.
  • Unkept promises.
  • Failure to motivate employees by properly showing appreciation for good work and leading by example.

Signs of union organizing.

  • Union literature.
  • The rumor mill suddenly shuts down.
  • Employees rather than an employee get together to complain.
  • Employees seek  information, in particular, names and addresses of fellow employees.
  • Long term, technically proficient employees suddenly become unpopular.
  • Employee complaints become more technical.
  • Employee complaints become more frequent.
  • Employees start leaving the premises in groups for lunch.
  • Employees don't appear at annual or otherwise traditional dealership social functions.
  • Employees stop talking and otherwise are silent in your presence.
  • Employees in different departments begin spending more time together.
  • Overall employee work performance deteriorates.

Union  authorization cards and voluntary recognition.

  • The most common technique in this drive is for the Union to pressure the employer to recognize it as the exclusive representative of the dealer's employees on the basis of a card check.
  • The normal approach is for professional union organizers aided by a small core of disgruntled and/or curious employees to solicit the signatures of as many employees as possible on Union Authorization Cards.  This is done in many ways – at beer parties, at formal meetings, informally at employees' homes, in the company lunchroom, etc.  When the Union has a majority of the employees in an appropriate bargaining unit who have signed cards, the Union may request the dealership recognize the Union for purposes of collective bargaining.
  • The Union has used what are often times called "Dual Purpose" authorization cards.  This card says that the Union may petition NLRB for an election or use the card directly to demand recognition from the employer.  This is, in effect, a power of attorney and should not be signed lightly.  It authorizes the Union to act directly for the employee.
  • Employees are often misled or coerced at the time the card is signed.  Sometimes the organizer or fellow worker says that the card is just so we can have an election, even though it says much more than that.  Sometimes employees sign just to get the solicitor off their backs. 
  • After the Union has a majority of cards, it will contact the dealer and offer to have the cards and employees' signatures checked, sometimes by the dealer itself and sometimes by a neutral outsider.  This is nothing more than an attempt to validate cards which may well have been coerced.
  • UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD YOU AGREE TO A CARD CHECK.  If the Union has an apparent majority of signatures, the dealer will be legally obligated to bargain with the Union and, more importantly, employees will be deprived of their right under the labor laws freely to choose whether they wish to be represented after they have an opportunity to learn more about the pros and cons of Union membership. 
  • THE UAW HAS ANNOUNCED THAT IT IS GOING TO START FORMAL ORGANIZATIONAL ATTEMPTS OF MANY AUTO DEALERSHIPS IN MICHIGAN.  THEY CAN BE EXPECTED TO APPROACH DEALERSHIPS AND OFFER TO ENTER INTO A "PARTNERSHIP" WITH THE DEALER AND HIS EMPLOYEES BASED UPON A CARD CHECK. 
  • THE BEST COURSE OF ACTION IS TO INSIST ON AN ELECTION WHICH WILL PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF ALL EMPLOYEES.

If you have questions, call Ken Wilson at 313.237.7300.