Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 18, 1995                   TAG: 9505180050
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: DETROIT                                 LENGTH: Medium

TRANSPLANT FACTORIES RESIST UAW

But Bieber and union Vice President Stephen Yokich, almost certain to be elected the new president next month, predicted Wednesday that the UAW eventually will succeed in its campaigns at the so-called transplant factories.

Bieber said lax enforcement of federal labor laws has allowed the companies to ``harass people and deny people their free rights to organize.''

``They threaten that they'll move out, close plants. They highly screen people'' before hiring, Bieber said. ``We've seen that just recently in South Carolina in the case of BMW.''

A telephone call to BMW's U.S. headquarters seeking comment was not returned.

The only transplant factories with UAW workers are those that grew from joint ventures between U.S. and offshore companies. They include the New United Motor Manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif., which builds Toyotas and Chevrolet Geos; the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock, Mich., which builds Ford and Mazda products; and Diamond-Star Motors in Normal, Ill., which builds Mitsubishi and Chrysler vehicles.

The UAW has failed to organize workers at Toyota's plant in Kentucky, Honda's plant in Ohio, Nissan's Tennessee operations, Subaru-Isuzu Automotive in Indiana and German automaker BMW's new plant in South Carolina.

Neither Bieber nor Yokich would elaborate on Bieber's reference to the situation with BMW. But both said they were optimistic about the UAW's prospects there, in part because German automakers are accustomed to extensive union involvement. Unions in Germany are represented on the managing boards of BMW and Mercedes-Benz, which is building an auto plant in Alabama.