The company has not been accused of safety non-compliance or denying breaks, but rather violation of workers’ rights to wear pro- or anti-union clothing at the facility, according to a Detroit News report.
A worker uniform policy implemented last year allegedly required most workers to wear company-issued pants and shirts, effectively barring workers from wearing shirts bearing union-related material.
The company argues that the program was not compulsory and merely aimed to reduce ‘vehicle mutilation’ during the assembly process, though a VW internal document submitted to the National Labor Relations Board noted that employees could wear their own undershirts but only if the garments did not have any writing on them.
“Employees have been able, and will continue to be able, to wear the clothing of their choice as long as it complies with the Nissan manufacturing dress code,” Nissan said in a statement.
The program is said to have been implemented in Canton, Mississippi, and factories in Smyrna and Dechard, Tennessee.
It is unclear if the timing coincided with the United Auto Workers push to organize Volkswagen’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The VW campaign has been viewed as the first potential step in a wider unionization push across the American South, where many foreign automakers have set up shop.
The UAW recently scored a partial victory last week in Chattanooga, establishing Local 42 for VW’s maintenance workers. VW has challenged the vote, arguing in favor of a common organization for all plant workers. Nissan and other automakers operating in the region have not been as welcoming as VW, however.
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