Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, filed a petition to join the United Auto Workers (UAW) on Monday after a supermajority of workers at the plant signed union authorization cards.
It is the first union election filing for the union since it launched a massive campaign aimed at organizing 150,000 workers at non-unionized auto plants in the US in the wake of securing historic gains in their contracts at the big three US automakers, Ford, General Motors and Stellantis, last year.
“Today, we are one step closer to making a good job at Volkswagen into a great career,” said Isaac Meadows, a production team member in assembly at the Volkswagen plant, in a press release on the union election filing. “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. We shouldn’t have to choose between our family and our job. By winning our union and a real voice at Volkswagen, we can negotiate for more time with our families.”
The Chattanooga plant is currently the only Volkswagen plant globally without union representation, according to the UAW which released a video announcing the union election filing at the plant. The UAW has filed unfair labor practice charges against Volkswagen amid the union organizing campaign over claims of union busting, which the company has denied.
In early February 2024, the union announced more than 50% of the 4,000 workers in the bargaining unit had signed union authorization cards.
The UAW has also announced organizing milestones at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Alabama, reaching a 50% majority of union support last month, 30% support at a Hyundai plant in Alabama, and 30% at a Toyota plant in Missouri. The union announced plans in February 2024 to devote $40m toward organizing auto and battery workers over the next two years.
Under previous leadership at the UAW, the union came close to winning elections in 2014 and 2019 at the plant but came up short after a surge of anti-union organizations and Republican elected officials aggressively opposed the efforts. Similar efforts have already begun during the current campaign at the plant.
“As it stands, we don’t really have a whole lot of freedom at work, we don’t have a whole lot of say on how things are done and how things go on,” Zach Costello, a worker at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga since 2017, told the Guardian in January. “Our lives are at work and if our lives spend so much time at work and we have no say, then how free are you? If people truly want a democratic life, regardless of how good their job is, worker organization is very important.”
In response to the union election petition, a spokesperson for Volkswagen said in an email, “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. The election timeline will be determined by the NLRB. Volkswagen is proud of our working environment in Chattanooga that provides some of the best paying jobs in the area.”
