Workers at Ford Bronco supplier Webasto won't join UAW after tight vote

Workers at a metro Detroit supplier to Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant have voted against joining the UAW in an election campaign that featured accusations of union busting.

The results from ballot counting, which wrapped up this week, put the vote covering the plant known as Webasto-Detroit on Haggerty Road in Plymouth Township at 251 in favor of joining to 260 against, according to Kayla Blado, a spokeswoman for the National Labor Relations Board.

Blado noted that there was one void ballot and no challenged ballots, and that the parties have five business days to file objections.

Representatives of the German auto supplier, which provides parts for Ford Bronco production, provided a statement noting that 90% of eligible workers had voted in the election and that it expects the NLRB will certify the results.

"This week, every eligible Webasto employee at our Detroit Plant had an opportunity to vote confidentially on this important issue. A majority of our colleagues decided that they prefer to continue to communicate openly and solve problems with us directly as in the past and without third-party intervention," according to a company statement. "At Webasto, we hold our culture and values in high regard, which includes fostering a direct and open dialogue with our colleagues and solving problems effectively as a unified team."

A UAW statement about the results, however, highlighted how the union said the company had undercut the organizing effort:

“Workers at Webasto Detroit deserved to have been able to vote in an environment free from coercion," the union said. "Executives from Webasto denied them of this right. We will pursue every legal avenue available to us to right this wrong and make sure that workers’ voices will always be respected.”

The union had been highly critical of Webasto's actions during the campaign, calling it out for hiring what it described as an antiunion firm to help defeat the union drive through captive audience meetings, antiunion handouts and other actions. The UAW also filed unfair labor practice charges against the company, accusing it of a range of improper activities, including surveilling union supporters’ cars and retaliating against union supporters.

The company denied the union's accusations and has said the outside firm was “offering comprehensive labor education seminars to our colleagues and management to provide full and undisputed facts on their rights and the implications of union membership.”

In its statement to the Free Press on Wednesday, the company noted that "to be clear — we take the concerns that we heard during this process seriously. We will continue to work in partnership with our colleagues to address challenges as we remain strong as one Webasto."

In July, Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel at the NLRB, met with Webasto workers from two different plants at UAW Local 174 in Livonia. She told them the agency has their backs as the workers described a challenging environment in trying to organize their plants with colleagues in fear of losing their jobs.

The Haggerty Road plant, where the vote had just wrapped up, is known as the Webasto-Detroit plant. Workers at the Webasto Pilot Road plant voted in favor of joining the UAW in 2023.

Contact Eric D. Lawrence: elawrence@freepress.com. Become a subscriber. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Workers at Ford Bronco supplier Webasto won't join UAW