By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United Auto Workers (UAW) said that more than 30% of workers at a Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM) Missouri factory are seeking to join the union.
Toyota, which employs more than 1,000 wokers at the plant that produces more than 2.6 million cylinder heads for engines annually, opposes union membership.
The company "has no way to verify or determine the accuracy of the statements made by the UAW," a spokesperson said Wednesday. "We do not believe a third party at our manufacturing facilities would enhance the results, stability or team member experience that we have achieved together. We are confident that with all of the facts, our team members would not choose union representation."
It was not clear when the UAW might seek a vote but it has said previously it wants to see support from 70% of a plant's workforce before pushing for a vote of employees on whether to join the union.
In November, the UAW said it was launching a first-of-its-kind push to publicly organize the entire non-union auto sector in the U.S. employing about 150,000 hourly workers, after winning record new contracts with the Detroit Three automakers.
The UAW said last week a majority of hourly workers at a Mercedes Benz (ETR:MBGn) Alabama factory have signed union authorization cards.
Mercedes Benz did not say whether it would recognize the union or contest the effort ahead of a potential vote. The company said it has a strong record of success in more than 25 years of operations in Alabama and believes "open and direct communication" with its employees "is the best path forward to ensure continued success.
About 6,000 workers are employed at the German automaker's Alabama plant that builds the GLE and GLS.
Last month, the UAW said a majority of workers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga, Tennessee, assembly plant have also signed union cards.
The UAW has for decades unsuccessfully sought to organize auto factories operated by foreign automakers. Efforts to organize Nissan (OTC:NSANY) Motor plants in Mississippi and Tennessee failed by wide margins, and two attempts to organize VW's plant in Chattanooga narrowly failed. In 2019, VW workers at the plant rejected union representation in an 833-776 vote.