UAW tilling what Sidney Hillman called the "unplowed fields" of the South with lopsided auto seating plant victory in Tennessee

The United Auto Workers continue to till what legendary Amalgamated Clothing Workers leader Sidney Hillman once called the "unplowed fields" of the South.

Workers at Magna Seating International in Spring Hill, Tenn., recently voted 192-1 to join the UAW, bringing a total of 230 workers into what UAW Region 8 Director Ray Curry called "the UAW family."

Located near the General Motors Manufacturing Plant in Spring Hill, the 122,500-square-foot Magna Seating International facility builds seats for the GMC Acadia and Cadillac XT5. It's a new, state-of-the-art facility touted by company officials for its commitment to good environmental conditions and open working relations.

The UAW has been slowing building a foundation in what has come to be called "Detroit South" for years, connecting with community leaders and area university students to change the traditionally anti-union hostility that Southern political, religious and economic leaders have fostered for decades. It has waged a nearly 12-year effort at the Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., that could produce a vote in coming months.