Repeated attempts to reach a spokesperson for Spain-based parent company Grupo Antolin for a response were unsuccessful.
Assuming there are no appeals, objections or legal delays, the UAW and Antolin would presumably proceed with contract negotiations.
Union members "will elect their bargaining representatives, and they will put their demands in to work on the issues that they want to see corrected at Antolin Howell," Morris said. "Then they'll send notice that they want to bargain with the company."
In October 2023, the UAW solidified contract terms with the Detroit 3 after several weeks of "stand-up" strikes, winning major wage increases and improved benefits. The union has since launched an unprecedented campaign to organize 13 nonunion automakers operating plants in the U.S., including Volkswagen Group, Toyota Motor Corp. and Tesla Inc., among others.
Morris said the Detroit 3 agreements raised awareness for workers wanting to have input in their companies' policies. He said the union drive with Antolin employees has been in the works for years, even before the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I think with the strike, it reignited interest, and the workers said that with the stand-up strike ... they made the decision that they wanted to bargain collectively with their employer, so they all came together and organized a union."
Antolin has been aggressively building its interiors unit in Michigan and in the region following a $525 million acquisition of the business from Canada's Magna International Inc. in 2015.
Antolin, in Burgos, Spain, ranks No. 55 on the Automotive News list of the top 100 global suppliers, with worldwide parts sales to automakers of $4.7 billion in 2022.
