On February 6, a United Auto Workers (UAW) news release revealed that most employees at Volkswagen AG's plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have registered to join the Detroit-based union. did. The announcement comes less than two months after the UAW reported that 30% of VW employees in the United States had signed union recognition cards. The factory currently employs more than 5,500 people and manufactures Volkswagen's ID.4, Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport.
The union said this is the first time the UAW has expressed majority support at a non-union auto plant. After successfully negotiating contracts with the Detroit Three automakers last year, the UAW launched a campaign to organize nonunion automakers.
The UAW believes that reaching this position at the VW plant is noteworthy given the short time since the campaign began. “Like anything else, it's going to be much harder to get the next generation of workers to sign up,” said Malick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University. He added: “If we try to go beyond the first two batches, resistance may start to increase and people will become more anxious the closer we get to actually holding elections.”
In addition, Volkswagen employee and trainer Zach Costello said, “Excitement is growing and now that we're at 50%, it's only going to get more. Every day, more organizers join us and I We are now able to bring our efforts to every corner of the factory. There is no denying it. All workers should have a voice, and we hope that our accomplishments will serve as an example for workers across the country.”
In addition, the UAW promised to hold a rally at the factory if 50% of workers signed authorization cards. With 70% support, the UAW would either require the company to approve or hold an election for the National Labor Relations Board. Finally, her 30% of the public must meet the requirements to run for her NLRB seat.
