(DETROIT) - The top priority for the United Auto Workers (UAW) is organizing non-Union workers at Toyota facilities across the United States and workers employed by other foreign automakers, new UAW President Bob King says.

The 63-year-old King, elected to succeed the retiring Ron Gettlefinger last week at the UAW's Constitutional Convention in Detroit, says the UAW "must fight for greater rights to organize non-Union workers" - including lobbying for federal passage of the Employee Free Choice Act, which would allow workers to join Unions.  In addition, King says the only way for the UAW to win back concessions with the auto industry during the recession is to focus its energies on organizing workers across the board, from the automotive industry to the aerospace and agricultural equipment sectors.

The new UAW president, meanwhile, singled out the Toyota Motor Corp., criticizing the foreign automaker and announcing the UAW will begin a banner campaign at Toyota dealerships that will carry the message that Toyota "puts profits before people."  Currently, there are no Unionized Toyota plants in the U.S.

Toyota is resuming construction of a manufacturing facility in Mississippi, where it has announced it will hire 2,000 workers.  The project had been mothballed in 2008 after auto sales slumped.  The UAW's King contends, however, that work was shifted to the Mississippi facility so the company could pay lower wages than what they were paying at the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California - which was recently closed.  King says NUMMI's California plant was closed down to scare workers at its other U.S. factories so they wouldn't join the Union.