UAW Scores Dealership Firsts

The United Auto Works union, facing membership declines in auto plants, is shoring up its ranks by signing up members at car dealerships.

The UAW has won the right to represent workers at a Ford dealership in Ohio and one in Michigan.

It is a first for both states.

A majority of workers at Mathews Ford in Oregon, OH, outside Toledo, voted for UAW representation. The 35-person bargaining unit includes auto technicians, service and repair workers, auto body workers and porters.

In Michigan, workers at Royal Oak Ford in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit, voted 22-12 to join the UAW.

UAW Vice President Bob King says the UAW will urge fellow union members to patronize the two dealerships.

The UAW says it represents workers at more than 100 dealerships nationwide.