Fresh off a great year for the United Autoworkers Union (UAW), which saw wins against the Detroit Big Three automakers, union president Shawn Fain set his sights on several other automakers across the American South. Volkswagen, which operates a factory and offices in Chattanooga, TN, was first. Its efforts were successful. Despite the most recent vote being the third attempt to organize workers there, the UAW’s efforts were finally awarded with a strong vote to unionize.
Workers at the VW Chattanooga facility voted 2,628 to 985 to unionize, and while the vote still needs to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board, it represents a significant step forward for the UAW. The vote makes Chattanooga VW’s first unionized location in the United States since 1988 and likely resulted from the UAW’s historic wins for increased wages and benefits for workers at the domestic brands’ locations.
Volkswagen thanked workers for voting and President Joe Biden celebrated the decision, saying, “Together, these union wins have helped raise wages and demonstrate once again that the middle-class built America and that unions are still building and expanding the middle class for all workers.” The NLRB allows five days for either side to challenge the vote, and if there are no challenges, it will certify the results.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee had fought against unionizing, saying that the state had fought to bring good jobs to the area. His statement noted that unions could drive jobs out of Tennessee and pointed to the layoffs initiated by all existing UAW automakers.
[Image: VW]
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