Nissan workers push to unionize Mississippi plant

Protesters say safety conditions ‘ aren’t up to par’ at auto factory in Canton

Ernest Whitfield, a 13- year employee at a Nissan assembly plant in Canton, Miss., wants the Japanese automaker to treat its employees with dignity and allow workers to unionize.

Whitfield, a press operator, stood alongside roughly 70 protesters at Nashville’s Coleman Park last week, just across the street from the Action Nissan dealership on Thompson Lane in Nashville and 15 miles north of the company’s North American headquarters in Franklin, Tenn.

Protesters held signs that read, “Workers’ rights are civil rights” and “Hey Nissan. Stop threatening your workers in Mississippi.” Passing cars on Thompson Lane honked in support of the protest.

“Workers are mistreated inside the ( Canton) plant. We’re spoken to disrespectfully by management,” Whitfield said in an interview with The Tennessean. “As far as the safety conditions, they aren’t up to par. ... It’s just a lack of dignity we’re having to deal with, and we’re told we’re ungrateful when we say we want to unionize.”

Nissan, in response, issued a statement saying it respects workers.

“Nissan’s history reflects that we truly value our employees and respect their right to decide who should represent them. Nissan Canton and Smyrna employees enjoy good, stable, safe jobs with some of the highest wages and strongest benefits in Mississippi and Tennessee. The allegations being made by the union against Nissan are completely unfounded,” the statement said.

The Nashville protest comes after years of efforts by the United Auto Workers to unionize workers at the Canton plant, which employs roughly 5,000 workers. The plant produces eight vehicle models.

“It’s just a lack of dignity we’re having to deal with.” Ernest Whitfield, 13- year Nissan employee