I thought things had been a little quiet on the western front.

When last (month) we saw United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, he was hot off pretty robust victories over strikes against the D-3 manufacturers (GM, Stellantis, and Ford), and sharpening the proverbial knives while wielding the rhetorical ones for Toyota, Hyundai, and Volkwagen.

The UAW is launching a campaign to organize 13 non-unionized automakers.

The union announced it's targeting workers across 13 automakers: BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes, Nissan, Rivian, Subaru, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. https://t.co/xknbABEbcT

— Axios (@axios) November 29, 2023

We hadn’t heard much out of them in the interim, but I’m supposing it’s because the union was busy filling out paperwork for the first salvo of the war.

UAW files unfair labor practice charges against Hyundai, Honda and VW, accusing them of union busting

The United Auto Workers has filed unfair labor practice charges with the National Labor Relations Board against Honda Motor, Hyundai Motor and Volkswagen
, accusing the automakers of unlawfully interfering with worker organizing, the union said Monday.

UAW alleges management at three facilities — for Honda in Greensburg, Indiana; Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama; and Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tennessee — have participated in illegal “union-busting as workers organize to join the UAW.”

Some of the companies had been watching the D-3 actions go down, and had already raised employees’ benefits and wages at those non-union facilities in the wake of the strikes.

The union complaints filed today allege harassment, threats, and destruction of union materials.

…The union alleges the activities range from surveillance of workers at Honda to confiscating, destroying, and prohibiting “pro-union materials in non-work areas during non-work times” at Hyundai.

At VW, the UAW alleges management has “harassed and threatened workers for talking about the union; confiscated and destroyed pro-union materials in the break room; attempted to intimidate and illegally silence pro-union workers; and has attempted to illegally prohibit workers from distributing union literature and discussing union issues in non-work areas on non-work time.”

During a union live-stream, Fain said the companies wanted to intimidate workers, and another union advocacy group featured a union member from one of the plants sharing what allegedly happened to him.

…”These companies are breaking the law in an attempt to get autoworkers to sit down and shut up instead of fighting for their fair share,” UAW President Shawn Fain, who was scheduled to livestream an update to non-union autoworkers Monday at 5 p.m. Eastern, said in a statement.

…”We are filing an unfair labor practice charge against Honda because of management illegally telling us to remove union stickers from our hats, and for basically threatening us with write-ups,” Honda worker Josh Cupit said in a video released by More Perfect Union, a labor advocacy group.

Fain’s lost a little bit of his luster lately, though.

I didn’t know that the UAW hated Jews. That’s odd. I know it’s members don’t.

— The Doctor (@TennantRob) December 3, 2023

With people asking, “Why would I ever buy another vehicle built by the UAW after these repulsive comments?”

Interestingly enough, the UAW isn’t all about autoworkers, either. It also represents teaching staff, even at public universities. So you’ll never guess who was out on the lawns at Barnard with Hamas supporters this afternoon, protesting disciplinary taken against professed Jew-haters on campus?

I suppose we could assume they’re Jew-hating union reps.

Happening now at Barnard College: Student workers with @UAW Local 2710 are rallying against retaliation for their support of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/r1pbUU2frV

— Talia Jane ❤️‍🔥 (@taliaotg) December 11, 2023

Not a good look.

.@UAW has a foreign policy, and it apparently favors the Hamas terrorists who brutally murdered 1200 Israelis, including women, babies & the elderly. They still hold 140 hostages & they vowed to do it all again.

For Jews in this union, it's good to know where their leaders stand https://t.co/cjGYIyGXxY

— Joel M. Petlin (@Joelmpetlin) December 3, 2023

But Fain is nothing if not a flamethrower, so I doubt he cares what anyone, including his members think.

Besides, he’s got his sights set on Tesla. These guys are just a bump in the road.