ThyssenKrupp: IG-Metall union wants to help the American USW union settle in the German steel plant in Alabama

Bullying measures.  This conflict isn’t new.  For several years now, the IG-Metall has been blaming the German steel giant (180,000 employees, €42 billion in sales in 2009/2010) of “riding roughshod over” workers’ rights in its American subsidiaries and of keeping unions from settling.  Employees who want to join a union are “bullied” denounced Detlef Wetzel, deputy leader of the IG-Metall and member of ThyssenKrupp’s board, during the IG-Metall’s Conference on October 15th in Karlsruhe.  At the group’s headquarters in Essen, this assessment is being vigorously denied.  However, an internal email sent to the employees by Uli Albrecht-Früh, director of the ThyssenKrupp Stainless American subsidiary, and published by the Handelsblatt daily on October 17th, shows things differently.  In this letter, the leader warns employees against the creation of unions.  “Even though, in the end, you’re making the decision, I strongly advise you don’t sign the card."  In the US, employees who want to join a union have to prove their will by signing a union card.
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However, an internal email sent to the employees by Uli Albrecht-Früh, director of the ThyssenKrupp Stainless American subsidiary, and published by the Handelsblatt daily on October 17th, shows things differently. In this letter, the leader warns employees against the creation of unions. “Even though, in the end, you’re making the decision, I strongly advise you don’t sign the card.” In the US, employees who want to join a union have to prove their will by signing a union card.

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