The United Auto Workers (UAW) has achieved a significant victory as a majority of workers at the Volkswagen auto plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have voted to come under union representation. This marks the first time a foreign-owned plant in the U.S. has voted to join the UAW. The vote was overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, with 83.5% of eligible employees casting their ballots. Of the 3,613 votes counted, 2,268 were in favor of union representation while 985 were against.
Following the announcement of the results, Volkswagen released a statement thanking its Chattanooga workers for participating in the election. President Joe Biden also issued a statement congratulating the workers on their decision to join the union. He criticized a group of southern governors who had attempted to dissuade workers from voting in favor of union representation, calling their actions an attempt to undermine the workers’ legal right to form a union.
While the results of the vote are now official, there are still several steps that need to be taken before UAW representation is official for the 3,000 workers at VW’s Chattanooga plant. Volkswagen must now begin bargaining in good faith with the union, according to NLRB spokesperson Kayla Blado. The parties will have five business days to file any objections to the election results. If no objections are filed, the results will be certified.
Bargaining for the first union contract will be a challenging task, as pointed out by those involved in the process. Fain, an individual interviewed for a previous story on the vote, emphasized the importance of not just the election but also the negotiation of the first contract. This contract will be a significant milestone in the process of establishing union representation at the Chattanooga plant.
The UAW, which has faced declining membership in recent years, sees this victory at the Volkswagen plant as a much-needed win. According to the union’s annual report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, UAW membership dropped to 370,239 last year, the lowest since 2009. This successful vote at the Volkswagen plant provides a boost for the UAW and its efforts to expand union representation in the auto industry.
The UAW will have little time to celebrate this victory as the union prepares for another crucial vote. Approximately 5,000 workers at two Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama are set to vote on whether to join the union. The voting at the SUV plant in Vance and the battery plant in Woodstock, near Tuscaloosa, is scheduled for May 13-17. The outcome of this vote will be closely watched as the UAW seeks to continue its momentum in organizing workers in the auto industry.
