UAW Strikes…OUT With Nissan Workers In Smyrna Tennessee

Nissan workers in Smyrna, Tenn., rejected union representation .

A total of 4,589 votes were cast,with a result of 3,103 against and 1,486 in favor of union representation

The size of the margin Wednesday was surprising because many experts and workers had predicted a much closer vote than in 1989, when the UAW lost by a similar, 2-to-1 ratio.

"The election is over. Our employees have spoken," said Dan Gaudette, senior vice president of Nissan North America. "You're the one that made this decision, and I think you made the right decision. Now it's time to get back to the business of building quality cars and trucks," he said in announcing the results to about 200 anti-union workers.

The workers chanted, "One team, one team" as vote totals were announced.

The plant makes almost 400,000 cars, pickups and sport-utility vehicles per year. Last week, Nissan announced plans to move production of its top-of-the-line Maxima from Tokyo to Smyrna, which will help increase production to up to 500,000 in 2003. It's part of a $1-billion expansion at the Smyrna plant and a nearby factory that produces engines.

Smyrna has topped the Harbour & Associates consulting company's list of most-efficient North American assembly plants for seven straight years, taking only 17.37 worker hours to assemble each vehicle in 2000. Nissan opened Smyrna in 1983 to build a compact pickup. Last year, the factory churned out 377,275 Altma sedans, Frontier pickups and Xterra sport-utility vehicles.

UAW officials and outside experts had said the Detroit-based union had better prospects this time because Nissan workers were older now and more concerned about pensions and workplace injuries.

UAW membership has dropped from a peak of 1.5 million in 1978 to about 700,000. In addition to losing in the 1989 vote, the UAW dropped two other organizing drives in the plant during the late '90s when it appeared interest was insufficient.