Fresh off winning big raises in new contracts with the Big 3 automakers, the United Auto Workers union on Wednesday announced simultaneous organizing drives at nonunion plants – including Rivian in Normal.
The UAW said the organizing push would target nearly 150,000 workers across 13 automakers, including electric automakers Rivian, Tesla and Lucid, plus BMW and Honda. The union described the simultaneous campaigns are an “unprecedented move.”
“To all the autoworkers out there working without the benefits of a union: Now it’s your turn,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a video announcing the campaign. “The money is there. The time is right. And the answer is simple. You don’t have to live paycheck to paycheck. You don’t have to worry about how you’re going to pay your rent or feed your family while the company makes billions. A better life is out there.”
The UAW is encouraging workers to sign cards online. On its website, the UAW says “Rivian is on the rise, but will Rivian workers rise with the company, or fall behind?”
If at least 30% of workers at a plant sign cards or a petition saying they want a union, the National Labor Relations Board will conduct an election. If a majority choose the union, the NLRB will certify the union for collective bargaining. Alternatively, a company like Rivian could voluntarily recognize the union, without an election. Or the whole thing could fizzle out.
In Wednesday’s press release, the UAW included a quote from a Rivian worker identified as Lori Paton who’s been working there since October 2022.
“The company likes to tell us we’re making the plane while flying it, and that explains a lot about the problems we have,” said Paton. “We have all sorts of safety issues. Turnover is terrible. Every group has a story about a new employee who did not make it to first break. The lack of safety, the low pay, the forced overtime, there are so many reasons we need to be union.”
Rivian has around 8,000 workers in Normal, making electric pickups, SUVs and delivery vans. It's rapidly become McLean County's second-largest employer, behind only State Farm.
The UAW is not the only union interested in Rivian’s employees. The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), aka Machinists, have been organizing at Rivian for most of this year, WGLT reported previously.
The UAW was actively organizing inside Rivian last year, trying to rally support around safety concerns inside the rapidly growing company in a union-friendly state. The UAW represented workers inside the plant when it was owned by Mitsubishi.
Rivian has defended its safety record in Normal, asserting a year ago that its rate of workplace incidents was much lower than the industry average. Rivian has repeatedly said it wants a “direct” relationship with its employees, meaning without a union as intermediary. It also notes that all Rivian employees are owners in the company, which is rare in the industry.
A Rivian spokesperson said Thursday the company is not commenting on the UAW's announcement. Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe was asked about the potential for unionization in an October interview in GQ.
“We don’t believe in intermediaries,” Scaringe told GQ. “Every car company with the exception of ourselves and Tesla pays a third party to sell their products, they pay dealers 10 to 15 percent. Those intermediaries create a lot of friction. I think the same is true for an intermediary that’s charging essentially a service fee to employees to act on behalf of the employees, which is what a union will do.”
