Courtney Hering has worked in the Kohler distribution center, moving finished faucets and unfinished brass, since 2012. Her starting pay was about $11.50 an hour.

Cindy Hering, mother of Courtney Hering, sits inside the UAW Local 833 union hall in Sheboygan, Wis. She has worked in the Kohler plant for nearly 40 years.

When George Cooper, a truck driver, started his job at Kohler two years ago, Cooper realized his pay and benefits were no match to those of other drivers doing the same work.