In mid-July pro-union workers at Nissan Motor Company’s Mississippi plant filed petitions with the National Labor Relations Board seeking a vote on union representation from the United Auto Workers (UAW). While Nissan managers continue their anti-union push, the federal labor board has accused the company of several violations surrounding union organizing, including allowing managers to illegally question and threaten union members. Nissan denies any wrongdoing.

The UAW has only won one vote among workers at foreign-owned auto plants in the South. After loosing an initial vote in 2014, 160 maintenance workers at Volkswagen AG’s plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, organized. That campaign featured heavy outside pressure from anti- union groups and politicians. Governor Phil Bryant spoke out against the UAW.

The pro-union campaign has sought support from ministers including Rev. Isiac Jackson, head of Mississippi’s largest black Baptist denomination. They’ve also received support from the NAACP and actor Danny Glover. A rally in March was headlined by Senator Bernie Sanders.