Fuyao workers to vote on union

1,500 to 1,600 expected to weigh in on UAW representation Nov. 8-9.

Representatives of Fuyao Glass America and the United Auto Workers came to agreement on the details of an upcoming vote on whether to accept union representation at Fuyao’s Moraine plant.

The vote will begin 8 p.m. to midnight Nov. 8. Then on Nov. 9, voting will resume 6 to 10 a.m., followed by another round of voting 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Sessions will be at the plant’s central break room, said Matthew Denholm, assistant regional director at the National Labor Relations Board’s Cincinnati office.

Denholm said that while there have been disagreements between the company and the union, so far the two sides have been able to work together.

Workers at Fuyao filed a petition for the NLRB-sanctioned election Oct. 16.

Each side will have election observers, and Fuyao’s side is expected to have “non-supervisory” observers, Denholm said. An NLRB staffer will count ballots and announce the results to both sides, he said.

“I think maybe the election process itself will go smoothly,” Denholm said.

Both union and company will have an opportunity to challenge aspects of the voting they find troubling, he added.

Ballots will be printed in both English and Mandarin Chinese, he said.

Fuyao, a Chinese-owned company, has some Chinese workers who are eligible voters and would be part of a bargaining unit if one is formed, he said.

He expects about 1,500 to 1,600 Fuyao workers will be eligible to cast ballots over the two-day vote.

Fuyao Glass America has about 2,000 workers total, and the company says it’s the biggest automobile glass factory in the world.

Basically, there are three possible results, according to the NLRB: A union-represented bargaining unit is approved or rejected — or challenges in the case of a close vote tally can lengthen the process.

The UAW planned a rally outside plant gates Wednesday afternoon to mark the upcoming vote.

Union supporters say Fuyao policies are harsh or unfair and that the plant is often unsafe.

But company leaders say that, while they prefer a direct relationship with their workers, the decision on whether to join a union is up to them.