The United Auto Workers union has filed both a formal challenge to its election defeat at Cummins Engines' Onan generator plant in Fridley and unfair labor practice charges concerning company activities leading up to the election.

The union claims Cummins management and Onan supervisors violated labor law in opposing the organizing campaign, including threatening to close the factory if workers voted to unionize and floating a plan to settle a decade-old class-action pension lawsuit that affects more than 60 percent of the workforce.

Employees at the factory voted 370-333 against joining the UAW on Nov. 15. Dick Kaspari, local counsel for the UAW, said the union's challenge seeks to overturn the election results and have a new election ordered.

The National Labor Relations Board office in Minneapolis held hearings on the union's objections from Dec. 19-21, during which it heard testimony from roughly a dozen witnesses for each side. Kaspari said attorneys have a Jan. 21 deadline to file briefs; after that, the NLRB's hearing officer will issue a report and recommendations.

Kaspari said the election challenge and unfair labor practice charges make parallel claims, though the NLRB investigates them separately. Among the union's arguments:

* Cummins 'threatened employees with loss of work, plant closure and other adverse consequences if they selected union representation.'

* Cummins 'provided unscheduled wage increases and promised other benefits, including settlement of longstanding litigation, to deter selection of union representation.'

* Cummins 'interrogated' and 'harassed' employees about their support for the union.

Last-minute surprise
Perhaps the biggest issue, Kaspari said, was a sudden offer to settle the longstanding pension lawsuit. That class-action lawsuit grew out of Onan's 1989 restructuring of its pension plan to bring the plan in compliance with federal law. In doing so, Kaspari said, the value of the plan to employees decreased dramatically.

Suddenly, a week before the election, Cummins CEO Ken Solso told employees a settlement offer had been made in the lawsuit, Kaspari said. That announcement was followed by leaflets detailing the settlement offer. 'The clear implication,' Kaspari said, '[was] that if you guys go union, none of this is going to happen.'

However, Kaspari said, the settlement offer had not been made officially to the lawyers handling the class-action lawsuit. '[Cummins] published details of the settlement in order to be able to say ?We're going to settle the lawsuit.' In the process of doing so, they made it less likely it's going to happen.'

Carrots and stick
'Front-line supervisors were very clear about the possibility that the plant would close or move if the union got in,' Kaspari said. 'Upper management used catch phrases, mentioning union plants that had closed in other locations, or a corporate reluctance to reinvest in a union environment.'

In captive audience meetings and other discussions, front-line supervisors also made it clear - and upper management implied - that if union got in, workers could lose benefits and their current job status, Kaspari said, using terms such as 'bargaining would be begin with a blank sheet of paper.'

At the same time, the company started giving an unprecedented number of unscheduled raises during the organizing campaign, Kaspari said. 'Onan has a policy of giving a limited number of skill-level wage increases,' he said. 'Suddenly, two welding departments - the entire departments - were given Welder 2 increases. Previously, there was only one Welder 2 in both departments.'

This article was written for the Jan. 10 issue of The Union Advocate newspaper. Used by permission. The Union Advocate is the official publication of the St. Paul Trades and Labor Assembly. E-mail The Advocate at: advocate@mtn.org