3 April, 2024After filing a petition with the National Labor Relations Board last week for a vote to join IndustriALL affiliate the United Auto Workers union (UAW), more than 4,000 workers at the Volkswagen Chattanooga plant will vote in their union election on 17-19 April.
This election marks the latest breakthrough in the national movement of non-union autoworkers organizing to join the UAW. The movement was inspired by the record contracts UAW members won during last year’s Stand-Up Strike against the Big Three auto companies.
In a press statement the UAW said that workers are voting yes to have better lives for themselves and their families, to have a voice in their schedules, benefits and pay. This will be a huge win for UAW who has been working hard, for over a decade, to unionize auto workers in the US South, which is probably one of the most anti-union regions in the world.
The UAW has on two occasions tried to organize at this plant, in 2014 and 2019, however they failed to unionize both times.
IndustriALL general secretary Atle Høie says:
“IndustriALL stands firmly with the UAW in this historic organizing campaign at this Volkswagen plant. We are fully aware of the importance of this election taking place at the only VW plant in the world left without union representation. We expect that Volkswagen will adhere to strict neutrality during the election. Equally important is that the state and local politicians refrain from interfering in the election.”
The National Labor Relations Board has scheduled the election and will oversee the secret-ballot vote at the VW Tennessee plant.
Photo: UAW website