‘Victories would be nothing less than an earthquake’: can UAW win in the south?

‘If the union wins here, it will definitely encourage workers in the other factories,’ said Lisa Elliott, a quality control worker at VW in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images

The United Auto Workers (UAW) has launched an ambitious campaign to unionize 13 non-union automakers across the US, and the first big test begins this Wednesday when 4,300 Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, start voting on whether to unionize. Many VW workers are predicting victory.

“We’re going to win,” said Lisa Elliott, a quality control worker at VW. “We have the momentum. I know this will be a historic event.”