Nissan Workers’ March for Union Rights Recalls the Civil Rights Struggle

Echoes of an earlier time in Mississippi were unmistakable: Rights denied and rights to be fought for. An entity that would protect the rights of some people, but viciously oppose the rights of others. A coalescing of people of different races, ages, faiths, socio-economic status and other backgrounds coming together to fight for justice. Prominent individuals from across the nation and the world lending their name and influence to the cause.

But on March 4, when all was said and done at the March on Mississippi to support Nissan workers who want to vote on union representation without intimidation, the question to be answered remained:

“Why Mississippi?”

The question this time isn’t posed to government officials protecting a system of racial segregation and denial of civil rights that has left a permanent stain on our nation’s soul. The question this time is posed to a global corporation that allows employees at every one of its facilities to unionize – except in the United States. In our country and particularly in this state, Nissan fights viciously to prevent its workers from exercising their civil right to join a union and better their lives.

Indeed, why Mississippi? What makes Mississippi workers so different that they are not granted the same civil rights as workers elsewhere? The workforce at the sprawling manufacturing facility 10 miles north of Jackson, Mississippi, is 80 percent African-American and is in a state that lags the nation in wages, education, health care and other standards of living. Nissan workers want to change that.

“I have two daughters and I want them to grow up in a community where they will have a real shot at a good future and a decent living,” said Morris Mock, who works on the paint line. “That’s why I’m going to keep fighting for good jobs at Nissan’s plant, no matter what it takes.”

Having a voice on the job, like their counterparts at manufacturing facilities in Brazil, France, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, would give them power to try to improve wages, benefits, health and safety and other working conditions.

“We understand that we are better together,” UAW President Dennis Williams said as the crowd, easily in the thousands, basked in the sun of a Springlike day. “We know that the only path to have economic justice is through collective bargaining.”

Even though the criticism of Nissan’s anti-worker campaign in Canton was intense at times, Williams reminded the workers that this movement was about them, their families, their future and the ability to change what is in front of them.

“This isn’t about being anti-Nissan,” Williams said. “This is about a balance of power. It’s about the workers having a voice in the workplace.”

Having that voice heard could help improve issues like health and safety. A moment of silence was held for Derrick Whiting, a Nissan worker who died on the job in 2015. Whiting had complained of chest pains and went to the plant’s medical facility, but was sent back to the line and later collapsed. The company disputes that Whiting died on the job.

Travis Parks, a Nissan production assistant, said workers know better.

“I was there,” Parks said. “I saw him on the floor and they’re telling me I’m lying.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued multiple citations against Nissan for violations of federal health and safety laws. The most recent citations, issued in February, found that Nissan “did not furnish employment and a place of employment which was free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.”

Another key issue for Nissan workers is the ability to transition from being a temporary worker without any idea of when they might become a permanent worker. Temps typically earn much less and have no control over when they are working, which disrupts family life. Wages and the lack of power they have to control work issues like their schedule is actually something the state uses as a selling point to manufacturers seeking to open plants. The state of Mississippi has given Nissan $1.33 billion in tax breaks since Nissan began operating in Canton in 2003.

“For so long, Mississippi has sold us as a cheap labor state,” said Derrick Johnson, president of the Mississippi state chapter of the NAACP. “We’re not going to take it anymore.”

Nissan versus the U.S. Government

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