VW crew in Tenn. asks for vote on unionizing

DETROIT — Volkswagen’s factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is likely to be the first test of the United Auto Workers’ effort to organize nonunion automobile plants across the nation.

Workers at the 3.8-million-square-foot factory filed paperwork Monday with the National Labor Relations Board seeking an election on union representation, the UAW said.

They are the first to ask for a vote in the union’s campaign, which was announced last fall after the UAW won strong contracts with Detroit automakers. The UAW said it would simultaneously target more than a dozen nonunion auto plants, including those run by Tesla, Nissan, Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Kia, Toyota and Honda.

The drive covers nearly 150,000 workers at factories largely in the South, where the union has had little success in recruiting new members.

The UAW said a supermajority of the VW plant’s roughly 4,000 production workers had signed cards supporting union representation, but it would not provide a number. A union can seek an election run by the NLRB once a majority of workers support it.

It wasn’t clear when the election would be conducted.

“We respect our workers’ right to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests,” Volkswagen said in a statement. “We will fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision.”

The UAW has said workers in Chattanooga have complained about mistreatment, including mandatory overtime on Saturdays. They also are seeking higher pay.