UAW President Bob King said he expects few defections by his members when Michigan's right-to-work law takes effect in March.
Unionized workers at parts suppliers will be among the first to test King's confidence. As supplier contracts with the UAW expire and are renewed or negotiated after the law takes effect, employees will be able to leave the union.
Contracts with the Detroit 3 expire in September 2015, so the law will have no impact on those plants until then. There's a provision in the law that prohibits the legislation from abrogating existing contracts.
King, who negotiated Detroit 3 contracts for about 115,000 auto workers last year, said the union is providing value to members, as evidenced by the fact that 90 percent of UAW-represented auto workers in right-to-work states have chosen to stay in the union. "We're going to continue doing the best job we can and be rewarded with the loyalty of the membership," King said. He spoke by phone from Geneva, where he was attending a meeting of global union federations.
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