UAW secures historic union election win at Tennessee Volkswagen plant

Volkswagen workers at the carmaker’s Chattanooga plant in Tennessee have voted to unionize with the United Auto Workers, a historic victory for the union and the labor movement’s efforts to expand to the southern United States.

The vote was the first union election to be held as part of the UAW’s ambitious organizing drive aimed at unionizing 150,000 workers at non-union auto plants around the US.

The win makes the Chattanooga factory the first auto plant in the south to unionize via election since the 1940s.

The union made the call late Friday night after some 2,200 ballots were counted in favor of unionizing. The plant has about 4,300 eligible voters.

The victory is a milestone toward expanding union efforts in the southern US where labor unions have historically faced aggressive opposition and union density has lagged far behind other parts of the US.
Related: Shawn Fain, president of the UAW: ‘Workers realized they’ve been getting screwed for decades’

Workers at a Mercedes plant in Vance, Alabama are set to vote on whether to join the UAW in mid-May. Shawn Fain, the UAW president, is also targeting Tesla, whose boss, Elon Musk, has vigorously fought unionization efforts.

Workers at the plant in Chattanooga voted against the union in 2014 and 2019 in closely contested elections. In 2014, the UAW tried to partner with Volkswagen management to push for a works council similar to ones the company has in Germany, where Volkswagen is headquartered. But the plans faced significant backlash from anti-union groups and Bob Corker, the Republican US senator whose staff was in contact with anti-union groups over messaging ahead of the election.

The UAW had been expected to win its latest vote given the firm support of workers beforehand, a quick turnaround from filing for the election to holding it, and a changing culture and landscape that has seen the US labor movement and the surge in the UAW’s popularity after its successful strike against the US’s domestic automakers last year.

Against that background, Republican elected officials had been less eager to come out against the UAW.

“The UAW is sending a strong signal that big change may be coming to places where most thought the labor movement was dead and buried,” said professor Sharon Block, executive director of the Center for Labor and a Just Economy at Harvard Law School.

“In the wake of the settlement of the strikes at the Big Three this fall, the transplant auto companies in the south gave their workers wage increases – the UAW bump – thinking that they could buy off their workers on the cheap. The UAW’s organizing campaign throughout the transplant companies in the south is a bet that workers can’t be bought off so cheaply. The UAW’s message to these workers is: ‘Don’t settle for crumbs.’”

A spokesperson for Volkswagen said in an email ahead of the vote: “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 a secret ballot vote on this important decision.

“Volkswagen is proud of our working environment in Chattanooga that provides some of the best-paying jobs in the area.”

What will GD buy when all the foreign car brands end up with "fuck the UAW" representation?

phungus thread

https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Volkswagen-in-Tennessee-votes-to-go-UAW-get-your-union-hate-on-inside-/5-2720504/

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I don't plan to buy any new cars ever.  I'll be driving my 2001 crv and 2005 Tahoe for the next 50 years most likely.  I have a milling machine a lathe and a welder. I do body and paint for a living and know how to fabricate parts. If it becomes impossible to find parts I can make them. I'd imaging metal composite 3d printing will be suitable for everything bur the most high heat and wear parts as well .     Unless the government makes it illegal for me to drive classic cars I'm done with cars.

You could still purchase imported vehicles free of association with the UAW. Getting a non-union vehicle is work tho. But Purists have derided Mexican production - whether Puebla 40 years ago or TMMGT today. Muh J-Vin

Germany and Japan have their own labor issues. Tho there's tends to be more benefit than drawbacks anymore, both are almost entirely unionized, with much more integration, esp Germany. At least ostensibly.

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Japan . . . Well there's a good deal of history. Toyota wouldn't be were they are today if Kiichiro Toyoda wasn't forced out by a crushing industry wide strike, forging the more cooperative relationship that exists. But there's also been similarities with corruption and leadership placing their own above membership. Like most orgs, which may exist for the best of intentions, they soon were hijacked.

In before VW moves?

So they use Dominion too??  Mail in ballots?

F Unions, way to go Tn!!

Average pay is $24-25 an hour once you have been working awhile. On par or a wee bit higher then already UAW worker plants.

Unless you are working tons of OT and destroying your body working 6-7 days a week, no one gets rich working the line anymore. And pensions aren't a thing nowadays.

Unlikely given the recent investments there. Which is why it was the first target - unlike Nissan, who actually would and has already threatened over costs. That's the counter pressure mfg roll out, abandonment.

Could see production shuffle, but German mfg is thoroughly unionized. Entirely different, but VW has experience with labor. Here in the US with Westmoreland

The perception of money the big 3 gave is the push. Why wouldn't you vote yourself a raise if you could. This will almost guarantee aggressive  pushes
to unionize Japanese plants.

I was going to say more Mexican made VWs.

They will be moving the plant to Mexico shortly then

“Center for labor and a just economy” sure doesn’t sound super communist and bad for an actual economy.  Not at all.

Price increases in 3...2...1

For a minute I was thinking phungus was in Tennessee and I thought I wish this dude would move back to Georgia where he clearly came from as a good bit of the rot that creeps into Chattanooga is by way of the people who live in Georgia and work in Tennessee in my experience.

I then looked at his location.

Anyway.

Just a little late.

They have. There is a huge VW plant in Mexico.

With China getting closer to importing autos this might end up a very important lesson in economics.

price increases then they move or close.

unions had a place, now they are a democrat funding machine.

Used

LOL, now they get to pay union dues.

Disgusting

Only if they join.  I believe Tennessee is a right to work state so they can’t be forced to join or fired for not joining.

How does the UAW negotiate under those conditions? They can only threaten a partial strike?

Everyone goes on strike, but only the union members in good standing are eligible for strike pay from the union.
All other benefits, pay, and even representation are (supposed to be) the same regardless of membership.

Edit to add, if a factory has say 1k workers and 51%+ are in the union, the place isn't running if half the people  don't  show up for work so they can still threaten the strike.

VW is so fucked

Good thing I had enough VW with jy 2006 jetta TDI.
What a lemon that ended up being,  hung onto that thing way too long.
No more VWs unless its a really old beetle/bug

Once thr current UAW contracts passed and the transplants failed to commit to matching them it was only a matter of time. You can't expect people to build cars for what is now fast food wages.

Unions are job killers. If union gets in the plant will be closed within 5 yrs.

I just spent the last week at a UAW facility that has been in operation since 1920. Not sure when they unionized, but it's been a bit more than 5 years.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/General/Volkswagen-in-Tennessee-votes-to-go-UAW-get-your-union-hate-on-inside-/5-2720504/

That plant is like 10 years old. I doubt they'll shut it down in this economy. They have too much invested and no one is going to buy it. That's a lot of unionized expenses they would need to justify the loss.