VW Chattanooga workers plan union vote

UAW representation election set for April at Tenn. plant

Jamie L. LaReau

The United Auto Workers union and Volkswagen have reached an agreement for a union election to be held at the VW plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, among its 4,300 workers next month, the National Labor Relations Board said Monday.

National Labor Relations

Board spokeswoman Kayla Blado said in an email to the Detroit Free Press that an election will take place from April 17 through April 19 with the ballot count starting at 8 p.m. EDT on April 19. Blado said because of the large bargaining unit size, it will probably take several hours to complete the ballot count.

If the workforce votes yes to unionize, it will be a huge win for the union, which has been working for more than a decade to unionize nonunion carmaker factories in the South. It has tried twice before at the VW Chattanooga plant — once in 2014 and again in 2019 — and failed to win unionization there both times.

In a statement, the UAW wrote the election at Volkswagen marks the latest breakthrough in its national movement of nonunion autoworkers organizing to join the UAW.

“The movement was inspired by the record contracts UAW members won during last year’s Stand Up Strike against the Big Three auto companies,” the UAW wrote. “Over 10,000 non-union autoworkers have signed union cards in recent months, with public campaigns launched at VW, Mercedes in Vance, Alabama, Hyundai in Montgomery, Alabama and Toyota in Troy, Missouri. Workers at more than two dozen other facilities are also actively organizing.”

VW spokesman Michael Lowder emailed the following statement to the Detroit Free Press: “We respect our workers’ right to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests. We fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy on this important decision. Volkswagen is proud of our working environment in Chattanooga that provides some of the best paying jobs in the area.”

The workforce at VW Chattanooga was one of the first nonunion automakers in the country to launch its public campaign to unionize, with 30% of the workers at the plant signing

cards to join the union in December. That came just one week after thousands of autoworkers at 14 nonunion automakers launched simultaneous efforts to join the union, the UAW has said. The drive was promoted in part by the UAW’s big contract wins against the Detroit Three last fall following a 46-day strike.

Earlier this month, the UAW announced that workers at Volkswagen Chattanooga filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board. According to the board’s website, to start the election process, a petition must be filed with the nearest regional office showing support from at least 30% of employees at the facility.

The UAW has declined to say how many employees at the VW factory have signed cards indicating they want union representation, but it has previously stated it wanted 70% of a workforce to sign cards before an organizing committee made up of plant workers filed a petition to take a plant vote.

Last month, UAW President Shawn Fain told the Free Press he expects to organize at least one new automaker plant in the country this year, possibly more. Fain said all he needs is one plant where 70% of the workers have signed cards, then take it to a vote and win. That would provide the momentum to win more, he said.

Blado said all full-time and regular parttime production and maintenance employees, “including team members, team leaders, skilled team members, skilled team leaders, and equipment operators employed during the payroll period ending March 17,” are eligible to vote.

Those not eligible to vote include all specialists, technicians, plant and office clerical employees, engineers, purchasing and inventory employees, any people who work for contractors, employee leasing companies and/or temporary agencies. Also excluded from voting are all professional employees, guards, managers and supervisors, Blado said.

For more information on the vote, go to www.nlrb.gov.

Contact Jamie L. LaReau: jlareau@free press.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.