Hazardous Air from Canadian Forest Fires Stirs Up Labor Unrest in Auto Plants.

As heat and smoke from unchecked Canadian wildfires settled over auto plants from Flint, Michigan southward through Detroit to Toledo, employee complaints about unsafe working conditions has skyrocketed – complaints compounded by heat wave.

The heat and smoke from Canadian wildfires has led to air quality advisories across a large swath of the U.S. in recent days. It’s also generating concerns about worming conditions at a number of auto plants in the path of the smoke .

That’s putting pressure on United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, who is facing a tough campaign for re-election, workers seeking relief with shorter hours on the line.

For the most part, General Motors, Ford and Stellantis, which oversee a collection of plants across smoke-choked Michigan, Indiana and Ohio, are helding to their production schedules. By way of relief, they offered employees facemasks to guard against particulate matter seeping into their factories, more water and longer breaks.

Fain says UAW doing what it can

Fain insisted the union was going all it could to cope with the emergency, which covered the Detroit region’s skyline with a gritty haze.

“UAW treats the health and safety of all workers with the utmost importance, and we urge all employers to do the same,” Fain said in a statement posted on the UAW’s website. “Our International Health and Safety Department has provided detailed, relevant information on wildfire smoke and air quality to union representatives across the country to aid and support local unions and regions in addressing inquiries related to this matter.”

Fain, who is facing five challengers in a contest for the UAW presidency, noted in his statement that many UAW workers are already subjected to working in extreme heat where doors at their worksite cannot be closed.

“This compounded with hazardous air quality creates an unsafe work environment. We call on employers to put health and safety of all workers first; including shutting down work if hazardous air quality cannot be mitigated with HVAC systems and PPE,” he said.

Union members call for tougher action

Union members reacted to Fain’s statement by posting roughly 500 comments on the UAW’s Facebook page, many calling for sterner action by the union including immediate work stoppages.

“One of the main reasons unions were formed was to provide health and safety for the employees. Working in factories that are filled with smoke for 8 or more hours a day and not doing anything about it goes against the principles on why unions exist. The UAW needs to do better. We did not go home in the same condition that we entered the factories today,” one of the posts noted.

Another union member, Mickey Roberts, described the union leadership as “being full of crap.” Everyone that worked at the Ford Dearborn Truck plant yesterday should be suing you and the Ford company for having them work in unacceptable conditions with the doors open letting the particles in. You are the worst UAW President they have ever had. The union did nothing while this company was allowing harmful particles into their plants to harm their employees. They should be held accountable.”

An employee at the General Motors Lansing Grand River assembly plant complained that UAW leaders “in cushy offices with central air!!” aren’t doing enough for “a grunt like us in the 100+ degree plants trying to fight for our jobs and the right to breathe.”

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Companies say they are acting to keep employees safe

The union, as well as GM and Ford officials, insist plants are permitted to remain open under prevailing regulations and standards. In many places, however, employees with asthma have been sent home, they noted.

“Employee health and safety is our highest priority and we are actively monitoring the air quality at each of our locations,” Ford said in a statement “At this time, test results have been below permissible OSHA limits. Extra safety precautions have been put in place, including keeping overhead and perimeter doors closed; maximizing the use of filtered air intake ventilation systems; and providing N95 respiratory masks for employees who wish to use them. We will continue to monitor the situation and will adjust as necessary.”

At its worst last week, Detroit had the highest air quality index in the world. The figure has come down slightly in recent days but is still listed as unhealthy by U.S. regulators, who recommend people remain indoors o avoid inhaling potentially dangerous particulates.