Democrats support efforts to unionize more auto plants as EVs are projected to cause job loss

Democrats are supporting the United Auto Workers (UAW) labor union's efforts to unionize more auto plants as electric vehicles are projected to result in job loss across the industry within the next 10 years.

Democrats in Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which included tax incentives for the purchase of certain electric vehicles as well as funding to expand the EV charging network in the U.S.

A group of Democratic senators wrote to auto CEOs on Thursday at Toyota, Tesla, Honda and others urging them not to interfere in union efforts. The 

"Many workers had concerns that the transition to electric vehicles would translate to fewer jobs, plant closures, or lower pay. However, the UAW’s securing of a just transition ensures workers at electric vehicle battery plants can earn the same high wages other UAW members earn," read the lawmakers' letter.

"It further demonstrates that the electric vehicle transition can and must create good-paying jobs. It is time now for non-union automakers across the United States to demonstrate that same commitment by pledging not to interfere in any organizing activities occurring at its plants through the implementation of neutrality agreements," the letter also read.

The head of the UAW applauded the senators for their support for unionizing non-union U.S. auto plants operated by companies including Hyundai and Volkswagen. According to government watchdog OpenTheBooks.com, the UAW has given $498,750 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee alone for this election cycle, on top of hundreds of thousands of dollars to other Democratic PACS and candidates. 

Currently, plans run by automakers such as Ford, General Motors, Chrysler and others are unionized.

“Every autoworker in this country deserves their fair share of the auto industry’s record profits, whether at the Big Three or the Non-Union Thirteen,” UAW President Shawn Fain said in a statement. “We applaud these U.S. Senators for standing with workers who are standing up for economic justice on the job. It’s time for the auto companies to stop breaking the law and take their boot off the neck of the American autoworker, whether they’re at Volkswagen, Toyota, Tesla, or any other corporation doing business in this country.”

The UAW published a report in 2020 that detailed its concerns about widespread EV adoption causing job loss in the industry. 

"EV powertrains are mechanically simpler than ICE powertrains. This simplicity could reduce the amount of labor, and thus jobs, associated with vehicle production," the report says. "EVs could also erode employment in ICE engines, transmissions, exhaust systems, and fuel systems, but could create employment in batteries, electric motors, electronics, thermal systems, braking systems, and semiconductors."

The Congressional Budget Office found that EVs will make up 27% to 60% of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2032.

"Including the additional effect of the EV tax credits that were signed into law as part of the 2022 reconciliation act, as well as past growth in EV sales, I project that EVs will constitute between 27 percent and 60 percent of new light-duty vehicle sales by 2032, compared with about 6.5 percent in 2022," read a CBO study from September 2023. "After the subsidy funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has been spent and the available EV tax credits claimed, EV charger networks and the EV fleet will remain somewhat larger than they would have been in the absence of those policies."

An analysis conducted by the America First Policy Institute in July of 2023 found that about 117,000 auto jobs could be lost under the Biden administration's stated goals for future widespread EV adoption in the U.S.

The UAW has launched a formal organizing campaign to unionize about 150,000 workers across the "entire auto sector" in the U.S., according to Reuters. Their efforts are spelled out on the organization's official website.

"It’s time for non-union autoworkers to join the UAW and win economic justice at Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, Tesla, Nissan, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Subaru, Volkswagen, Mazda, Rivian, Lucid, Volvo and beyond," the website said. 

Tesla CEO Elon Musk was recently asked about efforts to unionize Tesla's manufacturing facilities.

"I think it's generally not good to have an adversarial relationship between one group at the company and another group," Musk said. "I just don't like anything which creates a lords and peasants sort of thing. I think the unions naturally try to create negativity in a company."