The new head of the United Auto Workers on Thursday vowed to "pound Toyota" as part of a stepped-up campaign to bring union representation to factories operated by Asian automakers in the United States.
UAW President Bob King vowed to bring protesters, including retirees, to picket outside Toyota dealerships with banners charging that the automaker puts "Profits Before People."
"We're going to pound on Toyota until they recognize the First-Amendment rights of workers to come into the UAW," King told over 1,000 union delegates at a convention in Detroit.
Toyota and the UAW are at odds because of a decision by the Japanese automaker to close a Fremont, California plant that it had been operating in partnership with General Motors Co GM.UL.
That plant, where workers had UAW representation, had produced the Corolla and Tacoma models for Toyota.
In a move that further angered the union, Toyota announced on Thursday that it would shift production of the Corolla sedan to a still-unfinished plant in Mississippi.
King said Toyota was looking to cut labor costs and free itself from union representation. He said the UAW would lobby to have the decision on Corolla reversed at the same time that it pushes to organize other Toyota factories.
"It's outrageous," King said of Toyota's decision to shift Corolla production to Mississippi. "If they're going to act that way, we're going to respond."
A Toyota spokesman could not be immediately reached for comment.
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