Kelsey Smith displays UAW buttons on April 10, 2024 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Kevin Wurm | Washington Post | Getty Images
Volkswagen Workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted overwhelmingly to unionize, marking a major milestone for labor organizing and marking the first automaker outside of Detroit’s Big Three to successfully organize. ing.
According to the National Labor Relations Board, which oversaw the election, unionization passed with 73 percent of the vote, or 2,628 workers, supporting the UAW. According to the union, about 3,620 of the 4,326 eligible VW workers voted in the election, or about 84%. Seven votes were challenged and three votes were invalidated.
“In a historic victory, the overwhelming majority of Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted to join the UAW,” the union said in a statement Friday night, ahead of the formal announcement of results by the NLRB. “Votes continue to be counted, but the results are clear: Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga are the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to win a union.”
The NLRB must still certify the results, but the company must negotiate in good faith with the union unless there are unforeseen problems or challenges. Negotiations can be done directly or first through a mediator.
Both sides have five business days to file objections to the election, the NLRB said. If no objections are filed, the results will be certified.
VW acknowledged the UAW’s victory in a release Friday night, but provided little additional comment.
“We will await certification of the results by the NLRB,” the company said. “Volkswagen thanks Chattanooga employees for voting in this election.”
UAW leaders and supporters said the victory marks the union’s unprecedented consolidation of 13 U.S. automakers, following last year’s major contract wins with General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler’s parent company Stellantis. It is expected that the project will be used as a starting point for a new campaign.
President Joe Biden, who has been a strong supporter of organized labor and the UAW, congratulated the union on its “historic vote.”
“Across the country, union members including autoworkers, actors, longshoremen, Teamsters, writers, warehouse workers, health care workers and more are scoring big wins and big pay raises. These union wins. Together, we are helping raise wages and bring back the protests. The middle class built America, and unions are still building and expanding it for all workers.” he said in a statement.
This aerial photo shows the Volkswagen Automotive Assembly Plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, on March 20, 2024.
Ilya Nouberge | Getty Images
UAW President Sean Fein and others see this week’s vote as the union’s best shot at organizing the VW plant in the wake of the Detroit automaker’s strike and record contract. These agreements included significant wage increases, reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, and other benefits.
The successful unionization drive came days after six Republican governors from Southern states, including Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, issued a joint statement condemning the UAW unionization drive in their states.
“We have worked tirelessly for our constituents to bring good-paying jobs to our state. These jobs are part of the fabric of the auto manufacturing industry. Unionization will certainly jeopardize jobs in the state — in fact, it’s been a year since all UAW automakers announced layoffs (in fact, on this issue).”
The UAW previously failed to organize the Volkswagen plant in 2014 and 2019 as it faced greater outside political pressure and worker opposition. Five years ago, workers refused to unionize by a slim margin of 833 to 776.
UAW President Sean Fein greets members participating in a rally in support of the union’s strike at UAW Local 551 Hall on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois, on October 7, 2023.
Jim Vondruska | Getty Images
The union will now focus on negotiations with VW. It will also focus on an expected organized vote by Mercedes-Benz employees at its SUV plant in Vance, Alabama.
Workers at the facility filed NLRB paperwork earlier this month seeking a formal election to join the UAW. The NLRB announced Thursday that voting for 5,200 workers will take place from May 13 to May 17.
“The first thing you have to do to win is believe you can win,” Fein told Mercedes-Benz employees last month. “That this job gets better. That your life gets better. And that they’re worth fighting for. That’s why we stand up. That’s why you’re here today.” Because deep down you believe it is possible.”
Mr. Fein previously vowed to expand beyond the Big 3 to the “Big 5 or Big 6” by 2028, when his 4.5-year contract with the Detroit automaker ends.
