DETROIT — Locked into concessions to Detroit automakers and with membership at a 70-year low, the United Auto Workers union is picking an old fight with an old adversary, Toyota, in a bid to regain clout.
The union has been trying to organize workers at Toyota for almost as long as the company has had assembly plants in this country.
But now Bob King, the union’s new leader, says Toyota is vulnerable because of its safety problems and recalls.
He has called on union members to picket Toyota dealerships and has vowed to “pound on Toyota” on the organizing issue at its 10 plants in the United States, all nonunion.
Toyota spokesman Mike Goss said the company recognized its workers’ right to unionize but that they had not chosen to do so in more than 20 years of manufacturing in this country.
The company employs 34,000 blue-collar and management workers in the United States. The New York Times
