Report

UAW membership up for third straight year

The Detroit News reports that the United Auto Workers union has seen membership increase for the third straight year. The organization is now 382,513 members strong, which marks a jump of about 1,800 over 2011. That doesn't include workers who are represented but don't have a contract with the union.

"UAW membership continues on a steady path of recovery, even in the face of concerted attacks on workers and collective bargaining," UAW President Bob King said in a statement.

Even so, the union continues to struggle in its effort to garner the support of workers at manufacturing facilities owned by foreign automakers. The Detroit News reports UAW members were handing out leaflets at the New York Auto Show criticizing Nissan for not allowing the union access to plant workers in Mississippi, and we witnessed the exact same tactic ourselves at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this year. King has said that if workers at those facilities aren't unionized, suppliers and new autoworkers won't see their wages increase.

Meanwhile, the UAW said it spent around $9.1 million on "political activities and lobbying" in 2012, up from $300,000 in 2011. The jump was thanks largely to the fact that 2012 was a presidential election year.

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