• In this Issue >
  • Features
    • From the President
    • 258 years of trade unionism
    • Beware of the man behind the screen
    • Artists at Work
    • Capturing the essence of her subject
    • Giving new personality to old metal scraps
    • Honorable mentions
  • Union Front
    • What’s in the SAP?
    • Closing loopholes
    • Auto Dealership
    • Michigan workers vote ‘yes’
    • Workers get a first contract
    • UAW wins big settlement
    • Organizing Roundup
  • Departments
    • From the Readers
    • World of Work
    • UAW 101
    • Safer Work
    • Still Solid
    • Skilled Trades
    • Workers' Words
    • Phipps' Tips
    • Green Corner
    • Solidarity Index / Past Issues

Photo:VINCE PISCOPO

Jim Hites, a service technician at Mathews Ford, says being represented by the UAW will help build on the positive relationship that already exists with management.

AUTO DEALERSHIPS

Ohio owner embraces partnership with UAW

Mathews Ford owner and president Tim Mathews has an open-door policy that encourages workers to come in any time and talk about what’s on their minds.

With that same policy, Mathews not only encouraged the 35 workers at his Oregon, Ohio, auto dealership to join the UAW but also embraced the partnership of union and management working together.

The service technicians, body repair and parts workers listened, and in a voluntary card check on Feb. 24 voted overwhelmingly to join the UAW, making their dealership near Toledo the first in Ohio with a UAW-represented workforce.

“We really think this is a good partnership and a good relationship. We are excited about this. We are happy to have the UAW here,” Mathews said. “We were quick to say ‘yes’ to the union. We’ve already had quite a few phone calls and visits from our customers congratulating us on this.”

According to Mathews, about 90 percent of the dealership’s business comes from UAW members. Embracing a partnership with the UAW, he said, is good for workers, good for the company and good for customers.

“We let our workers know that it would be good for them to join the UAW. It’s a good group, and together there are lots of things we can do,” Mathews said.

“This is an innovative partnership based on a long and positive relationship with Mathews Ford,” said Jim Hites, an auto technician at Mathews Ford for 14 years. “We are working together toward common goals.”

“We believe this will help everyone at our dealership and keep customers satisfied.”

A strong, positive relationship with the UAW, said Mathews, is also key to creating more jobs in the community, growing auto sales for dealerships and increasing market share for automakers, in this case, Ford.

“The partnership with Mathews Ford is exactly the route that progressive employers take. The ideal is to create more partnerships similar to what is happening at Mathews Ford,” said UAW Vice President Bob King, who directs the union’s National Organizing Department.

UAW Region 2B Director Lloyd Mahaffey said, “This is the type of partnership you can accomplish when everyone wants the same thing. It is exciting to see the positive impact this is already having in the Toledo area.”

Sandra Davis