The Alabama auto production plants for Mercedes Benz, Honda, Hyundai, and Mazda-Toyota are all non-union. According to a Mercedes announcement, its Vance site would start making electric SUVs the next year.
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Vehicles Built by Unions
Members of the UAW and Canada’s Unifor unions produce these automobiles in either the United States or Canada. (Automobiles produced in Canada are italicized.)
Members of the UAW and Canada’s Unifor union, formerly the Canadian Auto Workers, produce these automobiles in either the United States or Canada. All of the vehicles listed as being built in Canada contain a large amount of UAW-made components and support the employment of UAW members due to the integration of vehicle production in both nations.
Only in Flint, Michigan, will heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierras be produced. Regular cabs for light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks are solely made in Mexico. The crew cab models of the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra trucks are those with two asterisks (**). Both in Mexico and Fort Wayne, Indiana, UAW workers assemble those.
It’s crucial to confirm the vehicle identification number before buying one of the aforementioned vehicles. A VIN with the letters “1,” “4”, or “5” indicates that the car was built in the United States; “2” or “3” indicates that it was made in Canada or Mexico.
Not all automobiles produced in the US or Canada are assembled by workers who are members of unions. Even if they were made in the US or Canada, the vehicles not included here are not union-made.
Hyundai is struggling, and its union is displaying indications of weakness.
For the first time in eight years, their formidable union reached a settlement this week after only two days of strike action, just in time for the summer break.
According to union representatives who declined to provide further information, the accord gives employees a lesser raise than the $14,000 in bonuses and wage increases from last year. It originally requested a 5.3 percent wage raise, which it later lowered to 2.1 percent; the inflation rate in South Korea is roughly 1.9 percent.
Late on Thursday, shortly before the automaker announced its second-worst quarterly net profit since 2012, union members approved the agreement.
In order to stem rising losses, General Motors’ GM.N South Korean unit closed one of its four facilities this year, made job cuts, and reached an agreement with its union to freeze salaries, forgo incentives, and reduce benefits.
The unionization rate among Hyundai employees is greater than 70%. South Korea, on the other hand, has a unionization rate of only about 10%, which is the second-lowest among OEC&D member nations (behind Turkey).
The 50,000 members of the union contributed to Hyundai’s explosive growth in the 2000s, a time when the business posted record profits and had the greatest operating margin in its sector (over 10%).
The union, which has called for strikes in all but four of the 30 years since its founding, uses that record as leverage when requesting substantial pay and benefits.
But over time, the wage gap between non-unionized workers and subcontractors has grown as a result of compensation increases that have outpaced inflation. In 2017, the average annual compensation for union members was 92 million won ($82,000), ranking among the highest in the world’s auto industry.
Some union members claim that when they go on strike, the union’s office receives a barrage of phone calls from employers, conservative organizations, and others denouncing them for taking their high pay, benefits, and job security for granted.
The auto unions in South Korea are frequently criticized by the country’s news media for being “aristocrat unions.”
The Ulsan factory of Hyundai received a leaflet from management in March before to wage negotiations that warned of a crisis similar to that of GM Korea and cited Hyundai’s high costs and low productivity. Hyundai asserted that only 60% of its factories abroad were as productive as those in South Korea.
The leaflet asked, “Are we confident about the future of Hyundai Motor? The crisis of South Korea’s car sector… it is not simply GM Korea’s concern.
Purchase vehicles made in unions
Consult the UAW’s Drive Union Buying Guide if you plan to purchase a new car, truck, or van shortly. The directory is a list of each vehicle produced by IUE-CWA, the UAW, and the Canadian Auto Workers. Along with well-known manufacturers like Buick, Chevrolet, Ford, Mercury, Dodge, and Jeep, the list also features union-built automobiles like Mazda, Mitsubishi, Toyota, and Volkswagen. Buyers of automobiles should keep in mind that not all vehicles made in the US or Canada are constructed by employees covered by labor unions. For instance, while certain GMC Sierra vehicles are constructed in Mexico, most are made in the United States.
The 2021 UAW Union-Built Vehicle Guide is available.
However, automobiles denoted with a solitary asterisk (*) are also made in Mexico.
Check the Vehicle Identification Number before acquiring a vehicle with a single or double asterisk. A VIN with the letters “1,” “4”, or “5” indicates that the car was built in the United States; “2” or “3” indicates that it was made in Canada or Mexico. Not all automobiles produced in the US or Canada are assembled by workers who are members of unions. Even if they were made in the US or Canada, the vehicles not included here are not union-made.
Unions denounce Hyundai and Kia’s significant U.S. investment plan.
The top Korean automakers’ plan to spend $7.09 billion on the production of electric vehicles (EVs) in the United States is being opposed by unions.
In a statement released on May 17, unionized workers from Hyundai Motor stated, “Announcing such a major investment plan without even discussing it with the union is an action that entirely disregards the 50,000 members of the union.” We acknowledge that keeping facilities overseas is vital owing to tariff concerns, but we already have enough of them.
The 30,000 unionized Kia employees are also against the investment choice and want the business to develop specific plans on how to hasten the manufacturing of EV models and hydrogen-powered cars at its local factories.
With the intention of beginning the manufacturing of their EV cars in the U.S. by the end of next year, Hyundai Motor and Kia revealed last week that they will invest a combined 8.4 trillion won in the country until 2025. The Korean manufacturers added that the funds would be used to explore technology for future mobility, such as robots and autonomous driving.
Because EV models will have a significant impact on future business, the production of EV models directly relates to job security at the auto industry.
The Niro and Soul from Kia and the Ioniq 5 from Hyundai Motor have up till now been produced at their home factories. Exports have been able to meet overseas demand. 7,410 of Hyundai Motor and Kia’s all-electric vehicles were exported to the United States last year. The Ulsan facility of Hyundai Motor produces just the Ioniq 5.
The newest expansion of the Korean automakers’ U.S. operations, they said, was in reaction to President Joe Biden’s strong support for green mobility, which is anticipated to increase EV demand there.
The unions are attempting to gain the upper hand in the next pay discussions at Hyundai and Kia.
The unionized staff at Hyundai Motor recently asked the corporation to increase base pay by 99,000 won per month and give out bonuses equal to 30% of net earnings.
In the midst of the epidemic last year, Hyundai Motor and its union reached an agreement to freeze the base salary for the first time in 11 years. The automaker has made significant progress this year, reporting 1.5 trillion won in net profit in the first quarter—a 175.4 percent increase year over year.
Does Hyundai employ union workers?
Hyundai Motor Co.’s management and its unionized employees tentatively agreed on a salary agreement on Tuesday, preventing a fourth consecutive year of labor unrest.
During their 16th round of negotiations, held in Ulsan, about 310 kilometers southeast of Seoul, the two parties reached agreements on a number of items, including an increase in basic monthly pay of 98,000 won ($74.80), the building of a new electric vehicle (EV) factory in South Korea, and more new hires.
The two parties came to a pay agreement without a labor strike for the fourth year in a row.
When unionized workers decide to approve the proposal in a vote slated for next Tuesday, the agreement will be finalized.
As per the agreement, Hyundai would start building an EV factory the next year with a target start date of 2025.
Hyundai has not established a car plant in South Korea since it did so in 1996, when it did so in Asan, 87 kilometers south of Seoul.
Offering a bonus equal to 200 percent of a worker’s monthly wage plus 4 million won and 20 Hyundai Motor shares per person was also agreed upon during the agreement on Tuesday.
The company will also revamp production facilities and gradually renovate outdated domestic factories to increase productivity and enhance working conditions.
Building Hyundai’s first EV factory in South Korea “will enable us respond to global EV demand more proactively, along with the plan announced in May to develop an electric vehicle manufacturing in Georgia, the United States,” the firm said in a news release.
Hyundai announced that it would increase the number of experienced engineers and production staff in addition to the capacity expansion plan. The corporation stated that the specifics would be ironed out before the end of November.
The deal was reached as a result of a global chip shortage, which caused Hyundai Motor’s sales to decline 7.6 percent to 1,877,193 units in the first half of this year from 2,031,185 units during the same period last year.
The largest automaker in the nation was plagued by strikes for many years. Despite a trade disagreement with Japan in 2019 and the COVID-19 epidemic from 2020 to 2021, Hyundai and the union were able to come to pay agreements without any strikes over the past four years.
Due to the epidemic, the employer and its union decided on a salary freeze in 2020. Following the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the global financial crisis in 2009, it was the first wage freeze in 11 years.
Management and labor came to terms with an increase in basic monthly compensation of 75,000 won, a bonus of 200 percent of a worker’s monthly income plus 3.5 million won, 2.3 million won in performance-based benefits, and five Hyundai shares per employee last year. However, it turned down the union’s request to raise the retirement age to 64 and bring back the sacked employees.
Are Volvos manufactured by unions?
The company’s own unionization history is the third component. At Volvo and throughout the country’s industrial economy, particularly the largest one, IF Metall, trade unions are strong.
Kia has a union?
For the first time in ten years, Kia Corp. and its labor union inked a salary deal for 2021 on Monday without an industrial action taking place.
On Friday, 26,945 Kia employees cast their votes for or against wage proposals that included a baseline monthly pay raise of 75,000 won ($64.30), two months of performance-based compensation, and 5.8 million won in cash bonuses. Out of the 28,604 union members, more than 1,600 abstained.
However, the business turned down the union’s proposal that fired employees be given their jobs back and that the retirement age be raised from 60 to 65.
The last time a pay agreement between Kia and its union was agreed without a strike was in 2011.
Sales increased by 22% from January to July to 1.69 million automobiles from 1.39 million during the same period in 2017.
In an effort to increase sales, Kia said it would introduce the K8 sedan and the fully electric EV6 that is built on the EV platform developed by the Hyundai Motor Group in global markets in Europe and the US later this year.
The company that makes the Telluride SUV and the K5 sedan debuted the EV6 in the domestic market at the beginning of this month.
The union and its larger affiliate, Hyundai Motor Co., agreed to a salary agreement last month, preventing a walkout for the third year in a row.