Workers vote for UAW at Johnson Controls battery plant in South Carolina

Workers at a Johnson Controls Inc. battery plant in Florence, S.C., voted for UAW representation in an  National Labor Relations Board election.

Despite a heavy-hitting, anti-union campaign launched by management and supported by local pro-business groups and the pro-business editorial board of the local newspaper, workers voted 76-71 on Aug. 18 to join the UAW. Workers there join other UAW-represented workers at JCI battery plants in Holland, Ohio; Middletown, Del., and Fort Wayne, Ind.

Workers at the battery plant in Florence, S.C., were not intimidated by an anti-union campaign in the local media.

“This vote showed true courage from workers who were faced virtually every day with anti-union rhetoric from managers in the plant and pro-business groups in the community,” said Gary Casteel, director of UAW Region 8, which includes South Carolina. “These workers know that without a voice on the job, their interests are not protected.”

When workers began their drive, management began awarding $50 for good ideas on how to better run the plant. Just before the vote, the local newspaper ran anti-union opinion pieces and editorials.

“These workers were not intimidated into forgoing their First Amendment rights to free speech and freely associate with a union,” said UAW Vice President Cindy Estrada, who directs the union’s Competitive Shop/Independents, Parts and Suppliers (CS/IPS) Department. “Johnson Controls should now do the right thing and immediately recognize the union and work together with its union workers to achieve a contract that benefits everyone.”