Kumho employees vote against unionizing, USW to appeal

MACON, Ga.—A call to unionize at Kumho Tire's Macon plant was voted down by employees, the United Steelworkers union has confirmed.

The election, held Oct. 12-13, failed by a 164-136 count, USW Organizing Director Maria Somma said in an email.

The USW, however, filed unfair labor practice charges in addition to objections to the election with the National Labor Relations Board on Oct. 17, Somma confirmed. She said the agency will subsequently investigate these claims, but no timetable for a ruling has been outlined.

"The employer broke the law and intimidated many workers with threats of job loss and plant closures," she said. "They spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on anti-union consultants who spent hours every day performing psychological warfare on the workers."

Also on Oct. 17, the USW confirmed that Kumho terminated the employment of Mario Smith, an act Somma said was illegal adding that Smith was one of the USW's main advocates.

"We will do whatever is necessary to protect the workers who are attempting to act on their legal right to form a union at their workplace," she said.

Kumho officials did not respond to requests for comment on the matter, but did launch what it branded as a union facts website. According to the website, the company denies paying supervisors and team leaders a bonus of $2,000 to fight the union and claims that Kumho Tire Georgia has lost $20 million so far in 2017.

The website has since been shut down.

"We appreciate the confidence that has been shown in us by our employees," the firm posted to its website in the aftermath of the vote. "We will do everything possible to earn your trust. We are humbled by the vote and look forward to coming together as a team. We plan to get back together with everyone soon to address a number of important matters. Thank you."

Somma said employees sought support from the USW when several concerns raised to management were not addressed. The USW said these included the right to fair and equal treatment—including no discrimination, retaliation, favoritism or harassment—that seniority should be the basis of selection for job signing, awarding overtime and scheduling vacation.

The union added that employees also had safety concerns over a lack of adequate training, availability of personal protective equipment and written standards/procedures.

Somma said that, to the union's knowledge, Kumho has not yet reached out to address these concerns.

A supermajority of the more than 300 people employed by the plant signed union authorization cards, which initiated the election process. However, once employees opted to have an election, Somma said Kumho hired Labor Relations Institute Inc., which brought in anywhere from five to seven people holding captive audience meetings every shift, every day, along with personal one-on-one meetings with employees. Kumho's union facts website also posted a series of videos encouraging employees to vote against the union.

The tactics subsequently caused fear among the work force. She said Kumho threatened to close the plant, that its customers will not want the union and subsequently the company would lose business, and that management had been spying on workers who support the union.

If the NLRB petition fails, Somma said the USW will have to wait 12 months to begin the process of another unionization vote. That means the process of card collection will need to take place again.

"We will continue to work with the Korean union that represents the Kumho workers in their home country," Somma said. "We will also continue to point out to policymakers that they need to find ways to have oversight over the foreign companies to ensure they are following U.S. laws."

Leo W. Gerard, United Steelworkers union international president, also sent a letter to South Korea President Moon Jae-in prior to the election raising concerns about Kumho Tire's actions toward its workers in the U.S.

The letter claimed that since Kumho Tire is currently under control of a creditors' committee led by the Korean Development Bank, the South Korean government could be held directly responsible for the behavior of the company's management.

He added that the company's behavior could have an impact in the possible renegotiation of the KORUS Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and South Korea.

As of press time, the USW said it had not received a response South Korea.

"We are concerned that by opposing the efforts of its workers to exercise their right to freedom of association by forming a union," Gerard said, "Kumho Tire may violate its obligations under international agreements including Convention 87 of the International Labor Organization, Chapter 19 of the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, and the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, among others."