Let us be very clear: Despite all of the lies and misinformation that have been spread, Nissan has union representation in 42 out of 45 of its plants around the world. It has a union in Japan. It has a union in France. It has a union in England, Australia, and Spain. If it can negotiate with unions all around he world, surely it can negotiate with a union in Canton, Mississippi.

But today, Nissan is doing everything that it can to deny workers in the south the right to join a union and bargain collectively for higher wages, safer working conditions, decent health care and a secure retirement.

They are hiring low-wage temp workers who earn as little as $12 bucks an hour. Well, workers in a modern plant owned by a major corporation should not be earning $12 an hour because people can’t make it on $12 an hour.

They have threatened to fire workers who are pro-union.

They are forcing workers to watch anti-union videos.

They have been fined $21,000 for safety violations after a worker at this plant lost three fingers.

They have even implied that if workers vote to join a union they will shut down this plant.

That is unacceptable, it is against the law and it has got to change!

Let’s be clear. Nissan is not a poor company. It is not losing money. Last year, it made a record-breaking $6.6 billion in profits and it gave its CEO more than $9.5 million in total compensation.

Today, all of us, need to send a very loud and a very clear message to Nissan and other large, profitable corporations: Stop the threats. Stop the intimidation. Stop the harassment. Stop the coercion.

Start treating your workers with the respect and the dignity that they deserve. Give your workers a seat at the bargaining table. Give your workers the freedom to join a union. Stop the race to the bottom!

It is no secret why Nissan chose to build a plant in Mississippi.

Today, Mississippi is the poorest state in this country.

Over 30 percent of kids in this state are living in poverty, the highest in the nation.

The average weekly wage in Mississippi is just $727, the lowest in the nation.

Very few people in Mississippi have a defined benefit pension plan.

One out of five people in Mississippi suffer from food insecurity, the worst rate in the country.

What corporations understand is that if they can stop workers in Mississippi from forming a union, they can keep wages down in Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

They can keep telling workers in the North that if they don’t accept lower wages, if they don’t agree to give up their pensions and health care benefits, they’ll just pack up and move to the South.