Claiming that automaker Nissan has been willfully intimidating and obliquely threatening workers at a Mississippi plant in an effort to discourage the formation of a union, the United Auto Workers have filed a request for mediation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as well as the State Department.

The UAW has been attempting to organize the plant located in Canton Mississippi since 2012.  It claims that Nissan has informed the 5,600 employees at the plant that the plant will likely close if they unionize.  If true, this would constitute a violation of the applicable U.S. labor laws.  Nissan has denied the charges, stating that it follows the local labor laws of every country it operates in.

Nissan cannot be forced into mediation by the OECD, and must agree to any mediation procedures that might take place.  So far, the company has not commented on how it will respond to the request on the part of the UAW.

The UAW has seen declining membership and a loss of influence in the southern United States in recent years, and the Canton plant is part of its strategy to revitalize union membership in that area.