CHATTANOOGA, TN – MARCH 20: This aerial photo shows the Volkswagen Automotive Assembly Plant. … [+]
The National Labor Relations Board certified workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voting to join the UAW. The vote, held April 17-19, marked the Detroit-based union’s first victory in a decades-long effort to organize nonunion members at foreign-owned auto plants in the United States. It was shown that
The UAW and Volkswagen of America announced the news in a joint statement Tuesday.
“Volkswagen and union members around the world have a long history of success building vehicles together, and we look forward to working with the UAW towards a strong and successful future for Volkswagen Chattanooga,” the statement said. Stated. “We share many common goals: to provide a positive work environment where employees are well compensated for their efforts in producing quality vehicles and share in the company’s success. Both sides are now focused on reaching a fair agreement and entering into collective bargaining and negotiations in the spirit of working together to build world-class automobiles, and the UAW and Volkswagen Chattanooga stronghold. We are working together towards a successful future.”
According to the NLRB, 3,613 votes were cast during the three-day voting period, representing 83.5% of employees eligible to vote, with 2,268 votes in favor and 985 votes against.
The next step in the process is contract negotiation. As UAW President Sean Fein pointed out in an interview before the vote, this will likely be a difficult process.
UAW President Sean Fein.
“That’s the difficult part of this,” Fein said. “You know, people pay a lot of attention to elections. Elections are important because you have to vote to organize to get the first contract, but the first contract is also important. It will be.”
As the union celebrates the victory at Volkswagen, it also looks to its next quarry, a similar vote to be held in mid-May at two Mercedes-Benz plants near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. ing.
The voting is scheduled for May 13-17 at an SUV factory in Vance and a battery factory in Woodstock, and will involve more than 5,000 workers.
For years, the UAW has been unable to win the support of so-called transplant facility workers. But things have changed since last fall, when the union won record raises and improved benefits in contract negotiations with General Motors, Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis NV.
This attracted the attention of workers at U.S. factories owned by foreign automakers who were anxious to improve the economics of the three Detroit car companies.
Several foreign companies have given raises to their employees to dampen enthusiasm for joining the UAW, but if VW’s vote is any indication, their efforts have fallen short. Votes to be held at Mercedes-Benz factories in the coming weeks will determine whether Volkswagen’s result was a one-off victory for unions or whether the automaker’s strength, which enjoyed a competitive advantage in lower labor costs, was This will likely mark the beginning of a major change in the relationship.America