UAW Wins Key NLRB Decision Regarding Nissan Vote

    SMYRNA, Tenn., Sept. 7 The Memphis Regional Director of
the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled against Nissan today in a
decision that also directed a union election for the workers at Nissan's
Smyrna assembly plant.  The decision denies Nissan's attempt to dilute the
voting strength of the Smyrna plant workforce by including voters in the
election from a separate Nissan facility 80 miles away whose workers had not
petitioned for an election.

    Specifically the decision said in part, "I conclude that the petitioned
for unit, limited to employees at the Smyrna facility is an appropriate unit
for purposes of collective bargaining."

    "We hope that Nissan managers who introduced this phony issue in the first
place, don't now take steps to delay the setting of the earliest possible
election date," said Chet Konkle, a member of the Volunteer Organizing
Committee.  "We want a vote as soon as possible, because a majority of Nissan
workers want more of a say about their jobs and we know that a union is the
best way to get it."

    "A lot of us have been waiting for this chance for a long time," said Mike
Williams, a member of the Nissan Volunteer Organizing Committee, and a leader
of the 1989 unionization effort at Nissan.  "Nissan management has told many
workers they want a quick election, and we hope they don't go back on their
word by trying to delay this vote."