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Thomas Built Buses Workers Choose the UAW

Perseverance paid off for workers at Thomas Built Bus in High Point, N.C., as they soundly voted for UAW representation in late June.

When the results of the National Labor Relations Board-supervised election were announced with 714 votes in favor out of more than 1,200 cast, it sent a clear message to the anti-union National Right to Work Legal Defense Fund: Workers at Thomas Built – like those at other Freightliner-owned plants in the South – want the UAW to represent them in their fight for dignity and justice in their workplace.

Workers at Thomas Built already voted in March 2004 for UAW representation, in a card-check procedure where a simple majority sign cards and the union is immediately recognized. But the NRTWLDF filed an objection to the card-check procedure, alleging “coercion” during the card-signing process. During an NRLB hearing, not a single worker came forward to testify he or she had been coerced, but the UAW and Thomas Built Bus agreed to a secret-ballot election to avoid protracted litigation.

“This win was expected from the start,” said Niels Chapman, UAW Local 5287’s president and a Thomas Built worker who helped lead the organizing drive. “We are grateful so many workers supported the unionization drive and we’re ready to prove to them – and those who didn’t support us – that it was the right decision.”

The UAW bargaining committee at Thomas Built is to begin work on a first contract in short order.

“When employers stay neutral and don’t intimidate their workers, most workers will choose union representation,” UAW President Ron Gettelfinger said. “We congratulate the workers at Thomas Built for taking this courageous step and know that their lives inside and outside of the plant will improve through being union.”

UAW Region 8 Director Gary Casteel, who leads the UAW’s efforts in the South, said Thomas Built workers were part of a trend in the South that signals a revival in union representation. “We’ve helped workers successfully organize Freightliner facilities in Cleveland, Gastonia and High Point in North Carolina and in Memphis in Tennessee,” Casteel said. “Workers in the South understand that union means good pay and benefits, job security and a voice on the job.”

UAW Vice President Bob King, who directs the union’s National Organizing Department, said the workers won because the Region 8 organizing team did a great job of mentoring the local organizing committee who were focused, organized and made their case to their co-workers. “Once they explained the benefits of union membership to their co-workers, it became clear to the committee that they would again prevail,” King said. “We congratulate them on their success and know they will succeed.”