"Danny Glover and Bernie Sanders Seek France's Help after Nissan Union Vote," 12 Aug 2017

The actor Danny Glover and Senator Bernie Sanders are preparing to lobby the French government for help in the heated attempt to unionize a Nissan car plant in Mississippi. The United Auto Workers (UAW) suffered a historic defeat of the Nissan plant in Canton, Mississippi, this month after a long campaign marred by allegations of bribery and intimidation. Nissan and France’s Renault share a deep alliance, with each company owning shares in the other and sharing a chief executive officer, Carlos Ghosn. The French government owns a close to 20% stake in Renault. Glover, most famous for roles in the Lethal Weapon series and The Color Purple, is a longtime activist and supporter of the UAW and its fight to unionize in the US south. He and Sanders intend to lobby the French president, Emmanuel Macron, to push for a second vote... Nissan operates 45 auto plants around the globe. The only ones without union representation are in the southern US... “We solemnly call on the president of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to show the value of France’s attachment to union rights and freedoms, here and everywhere else across the world, to demand Carlos Ghosn [Nissan and Renault's CEO] respect union rights and allow for elections to take place in a climate of neutrality,” wrote the French national assembly member Christian Hutin in a joint op-ed with the European parliament member Virginie Roziere in the daily Liberation.