Caption: Union's future seen in Nissan vote. Anaheim, Calf-More than 2000 UAW convention delegates discuss the union future here last week ,but the union's real future lies thousands of miles away with 2,400 workers in Symrna ,Tenn. The union will try to win an election July 26-27 to represent the workers at Japanese automaker Nissan's U.S. truck and car assembly plant. The election's outcome will affect not only the future of union but current members as well, say Harry Katz associate professor of collective bargaining at Cornell University. The UAW refuses to say what percentage of the eligible employees have sign cards requesting a union vote, but 30 percent requires by law. A simple majority is needed to win the right to represent the workers. "We don't go into an election with us feeling that we don't have a shot," says George Smith, director of the 61,000 member UAW Region 8, which includes Tennessee. Nissan says it is confident that most Nissan employees will vote against the union.UAW officials says the main issue isn't wages which are comparable to those paid by U.S automakers but working conditions .The union is emphasizing what it regards ad poor safety conditions in the plant. Nissan says it already has a better safety records than other auto plants already organized by the UAW. Citing National Safety Council statistics ,it says that in 1987 ,it had 8.9 injuries or illness per 100 workers ,compared with 25.8 in other auto plants.UAW Region 8 Director George H. Smith --UAW Handout.
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