The United Auto Workers union is putting their money where their mouth is. The National Labor Relations Board announced March 25 that it would oversee an election at Volkswagen USA’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant from April 17 to April 19.
Volkswagen USA, in an unsigned statement released March 18 after the UAW officially called for the NLRB election, said simply that the company favors its employees’ rights and a private election.
“We respect our workers’ right to a democratic process and to determine who should represent their interests. We will fully support an NLRB vote so every team member has a chance to vote in privacy in this important decision."
In its own statement, the UAW signaled confidence it would win the right to represent the plant in the election, and quoted an assembly worker, Isaac Meadows, who said a union victory would lead to better representation for workers there.
“We need a say in our schedules, benefits, pay, and more,” Meadows said.
The election is the UAW’s third attempt to represent the Chattanooga plant, following failed votes in 2014 and 2019: It is Volkswagen’s only factory not represented by German metalworkers union IG Metall or a local equivalent, but to date this has yet to translate into a win for the UAW.
Despite its record at the plant, the UAW says it currently has enough signed union cards to form a supermajority of 4,000 voting workers.
