VW workers to vote on joining UAW union in Tennessee

Detroit- Volkswagen Workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., will vote this week on whether to unite with the United Auto Workers, a key test of the union’s influence.

A win would give the UAW its first major outside automaker win General Motors, Fordand Chrysler parent company star. It would also provide a starting point for an unprecedented organizing drive by the union, which includes 13 U.S. automakers, after winning a major contract with the Detroit company in 2023.

The defeat would mark the latest organizing failure for Detroit unions after decades of unsuccessful campaigns outside the Big Three, including at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee in 2014 and 2019. A major setback for Shawn Fain.

More than 4,000 Volkswagen employees are eligible to vote, with voting open Wednesday until 8 p.m. ET on Friday.Organizational voting is overseen by a committee National Labor Relations Boardrequiring a simple majority to succeed.

Fein and others see this week’s vote as the union’s best chance to organize VW plants following record contracts and strikes at the Detroit automaker, which last year gave Fein international prominence as the union’s voice. Reputation.

Stephen Silvia said the UAW’s record-breaking contract with the Detroit Three automakers is the biggest difference between the current union effort and Volkswagen’s previous efforts, author “The UAW’s Southern Gamble: Organizing Workers at Foreign-Owned Auto Plants.”

“This is by far the best opportunity of any UAW event in Chattanooga,” he said.

Sylvia, a professor at American University in Washington, D.C., said the political environment, company information and Fein’s leadership all created a more favorable environment for the union than previous organizing efforts.

Volkswagen, which has unionized workers at non-U.S. plants, said it would let workers decide whether to organize. The company said it was simply clarifying what it believed was misleading or incorrect information related to issues such as wages and benefits, but was not speaking out against unionization. It also launched an initiative called “ “Vote for the workplace you want” All employees are encouraged to do this.

“We respect the right of workers to participate in the democratic process and decide who should represent their interests,” Volkswagen said in a statement. “We fully support the NLRB vote to give every team member the opportunity to cast a secret ballot on this important decision. Volkswagen Automotive is proud of our workplace in Chattanooga, which offers some of the highest paying jobs in the area.”

In addition to less political pressure in right-to-work states, there are fewer organized efforts against unions than in previous movements. In recent weeks, a group called “Volkswagen Chatt Workers, for Volkswagen Chatt Workers” has begun to oppose the UAW organization, including “Still No UAW” Website.

One member of the group, who asked not to be identified because of concerns about the impact of UAW organizing success, said he worries the union could cause problems at the plant, including the possibility of layoffs, as if workers negotiated to win more benefits. Same.

The assembly worker, who has worked at the plant for more than 10 years, said there is no guarantee the German automaker will agree to the same wages and benefits as General Motors, Ford and Stellantis.

“The Big Three, they got a good contract… but we are not the Big Three,” the veteran worker said. “They are bigger companies (in the U.S.) and when contracts and negotiations come into play, it’s not going to be the same.”

He said this UAW organizing drive feels different than the past two because there is less external political pressure, the union has new leadership and organizing strategies, and there are more new workers supporting the union at the plant.

Volkswagen workers filed for election in March after an overwhelming majority of them signed union cards, according to the United Auto Workers. Volkswagen workers secured a majority in early February, two months after launching a public campaign to join the UAW.

Unlike previous organizing efforts, this union had a grassroots or bottom-up drive, led by factory workers rather than international union leaders. Sylvia said the strategy helps with messaging.

In 2019, VW workers at the Chattanooga plant voted 833 to 776 to reject union representation.

“Now, we just have to make our voices heard in the factory. Now, we are subject to the whims of the company,” said Isaac Meadows, an assembly worker who has worked at the Volkswagen plant for 14 months. . “We want to have a say on a lot of issues, and by coming together to form our union, it allows us to bargain on all of those issues.”

Meadows, who makes $27 an hour, said his top priorities are salary, benefits and extra time off.

Mass production workers at the plant will be paid between $23.40 and $32.40 an hour, with a gradual increase to the top wage over four years, according to the company.

This year, the UAW negotiated a wage range for production workers at the Detroit automaker of between $25 and $36 an hour, including an estimated cost-of-living adjustment. By the end of the UAW contract in 2028, top wages for production workers are expected to exceed $42 an hour.

“He’s worth twice as much to Ford as we are to Volkswagen,” Meadows said, adding that “everyone is watching” the outcome of UAW negotiations with the Detroit automakers.

The United Auto Workers used the new pay and other benefits to rally unorganized auto workers to unionize.

Volkswagen is one of 13 non-union automakers in the United States, and the UAW set its sights on Volkswagen late last year after signing a record-breaking contract with the Detroit automaker. The event covers BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Lucid, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, RivianSubaru, TeslaToyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Earlier this month, workers at the Mercedes-Benz Assembly Plant in Alabama filed paperwork with the NLRB to formally elect to join the UAW.

“The first thing you have to do to win is believe you can win,” Fein told Mercedes-Benz workers last month. “This job can be better. Your life can be better. These things are worth fighting for. That’s why we stand up. That’s why you’re here today. Because deep down, you believe it’s possible of.

Fain has previously vowed to expand beyond the Big Three to a “Big Five or Six” when his 4.5-year contract with the Detroit automakers expires.