Petition filed for VW Chattanooga union vote

The United Auto Workers on Monday said a petition was filed for a vote by Volkswagen Chattanooga workers to align with the union, which would be the third such election since 2014.

The union said in a statement the petition was filed with the National Labor Relations Board after a supermajority of Volkswagen employees signed union cards in the past 100 days.

The union declined to say if the percent of VW employees who’ve signed cards hit the 70% mark, which was the threshold the UAW had given for seeking an election to represent workers in bargaining with the company.

The UAW lost elections in 2014 and 2019 by close margins at the plant that produces the Atlas and ID.4 SUVs.

No date for a vote was given Monday. In 2019, a three-day secret ballot vote was held about three weeks after the UAW filed a petition.

Dan Gilmore, a Chattanooga labor law attorney who has studied the VW union votes, said by phone it appears the UAW decided it had a significant cushion among the workers who signed cards to seek the new election.

He said there always will be some erosion between the number of people who sign cards and those who vote for union representation.

“They’ve been waiting to get as much cushion as they could to give themselves the greatest opportunity to win,” Gilmore said.

Isaac Meadows, a VW production assembly team member who supports the UAW, said the petition filing means workers are one step closer to making “a good job at Volkswagen into a great career.”

“Right now, we miss time with our families because so much of our paid time off is burned up during the summer and winter shutdowns,” he said in a statement. “We shouldn’t have to choose between our family and our job.”

Michael W. Lowder, a Volkswagen Group of America spokesperson, said the company Monday morning received notice the UAW has filed the petition with the NLRB to hold the election to determine representation at the plant.

The election timeline will be determined by the NLRB, he said in a statement.

“We respect our workers’ right to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests,” Lowder said. “We will fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision. Volkswagen is proud of our working environment in Chattanooga that provides some of the best paying jobs in the area.”

NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado said if the parties do not stipulate to the details of an election, such as who is in the bargaining unit, a pre-election hearing will be held March 26 in Atlanta.

She said in an email the petition is for a 4,300person unit at Volkswagen to be represented by the UAW. That’s about the number VW had said produce the vehicles made in the plant. Some 5,500 people in total work for Volkswagen Chattanooga.

Blado said the regional office will confirm the union submitted signed cards from the minimum 30% of the proposed unit in order to move forward with the election.

Gilmore said the NLRB will look at the union cards to make sure they’re signed and dated within a year.

“Unless something is wrong, they’ll accept them as legitimate,” he said.

Gilmore said VW will provide contact information for those eligible to vote. Typically, he said he believes worker eligibility will be those employed before the payroll end date prior to the petition filing.

“If there are no disputes, the (NLRB) regional director will schedule an election to take place,” he said.

According to the NLRB, those workers eligible to vote are all full-time and regular part-time production and maintenance employees. Not eligible are specialists, technicians, clerical employees, engineers, purchasing and inventory workers, along with those employed by contractors or temporary agencies, managers and supervisors.

The petition marks the first nonunion auto plant to file for an election among the dozens of factories where workers have organized in recent months, according to the UAW. The effort sprang up after union victories last year for Big Three autoworkers.

The UAW announced in December that more than 1,000 Volkswagen Chattanooga workers had signed authorization cards supporting a union. In early February, the UAW said more than 50% of VW employees had signed cards.

The number of employees at the plant has grown by about 60% since the last vote in 2019.

In 2019, 1,609 workers voted with the result 51.8% against and 48.2% for the union. In 2014, 1,338 workers cast votes, with 53.2% against and 46.8% for UAW representation.

On Monday, Victor Vaughn, a logistics team member at VW, said in a statement he supports a union “because we want Volkswagen to be successful. Volkswagen has spent billions of dollars expanding in Chattanooga, but right now safety is a major issue in our plant.”

Yolanda Peoples, a production team member in assembly, said in a statement she came from a UAW family “so I’ve seen how having our union enables us to make life better on the job and off. We are a positive force in the plant. When we win our union, we’ll be able to bargain for a safer workplace, so people can stay on the job and the company can benefit from our experience.”

On Facebook, a member of the group Volkswagen Workers of Chattanooga, Kaye Fiorello, warned about signing the authorization cards, telling employees to ask questions and not unintentionally give away their rights.

VW employee Keri Menendez added in a post: “I believe there are things at VW that could be better. I don’t feel UAW is the correct answer.”

Volkswagen late last year said it was providing an 11% pay raise for production workers, beginning in December. Starting wages at the plant are now $23.42 an hour, rising to a maximum of $32.40, the company said.