About 4,300 production and maintenance workers at Volkswagen's auto assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are voting this week on whether to join the United Auto Workers union.
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About 4,300 production and maintenance workers at Volkswagen's auto assembly plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are voting this week on whether to join the United Auto Workers union.
Ilya Novellaj/Getty Images
Over the next three days, Volkswagen workers in Tennessee could change the course of unions in the South. On Wednesday morning, production and maintenance employees at the company's Chattanooga plant began casting votes on whether they wanted to join the United Auto Workers union.
Voting, which will close at 8pm on Friday, is one of the most closely watched labor events of the year. That's because of the importance of the Chattanooga plant itself, which the UAW has tried and failed to unionize twice over the past decade — a stark reminder of the decline of union power.
But today's UAW has a swagger that it lacked just two years ago. It is now coming off new victories achieved in the fall of last year, when the union led a historic strike against Detroit's Big Three automakers and achieved major successes at the bargaining table: wage increases of at least 25 percent over four years. A two-year contract — with double pay for some new and temporary workers — plus cost-of-living adjustments.
With the wind blowing, the UAW launched a $40 million campaign to attract workers at non-union auto plants, especially those in the South. The Volkswagen plant is the first to hold an election, and a lot depends on that vote.
A victory would build momentum as the UAW recruits workers it has long failed to win over, while a loss could bring the union campaign to a halt.
The UAW needs a majority of yes votes to declare victory. according to Federal employment file4,300 production and maintenance workers are eligible to vote.
Assembly worker Victor Vaughn, who supports the vote, acknowledged that Volkswagen is a “good” place to work. But he says employees need a company forum to address their issues. “That's what we strive for, is to make it a great place to work.”
The only Volkswagen plant in the world where there is no worker representation
The Chattanooga plant, which produces Volkswagen's Atlas SUV and ID.4 electric SUV, is the only Volkswagen plant in the world where there is no worker representation.
This week's union vote is the third at that plant in a decade. UAW efforts to unite auto workers in 2014 and 2019 ended in narrow defeats. A smaller group of about 150 skilled employees, including electricians and mechanics, voted to join the UAW in 2015, but legal battles over the small unit caused the union's bid to fail as well.
Previous losses at this plant came after strong opposition from local politicians who warned that the union would have harmful effects on the local economy. This time too there are similar concerns. On a visit to Chattanooga last week, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, said workers would do just that Risking their future if they vote to unionize.
“We've seen the decline of unions in many places across this country over the last decade. We've seen factories that have made the decision to unionize close,” he said. “So I hope that's not what's happening here.”
Southern governors warn of job losses
This final push by the UAW into the South was a source of concern to state politicians throughout the region. They worry that the win at this plant could spread to other companies and cost the region current and future jobs.
On Tuesday, Lee joined the governors of Texas, South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia and Alabama in a joint statement speaking out against the United Workers union campaign.
“The reality is that companies have a choice when it comes to where to invest and bring jobs and opportunities,” the statement said. “Unionizing would certainly put our states' jobs at risk — in fact, already this year, all of the UAW's automakers have announced layoffs.”
The South has been successful in securing many high-paying jobs for residents as foreign automakers move in and set up shop. They came South because of generous incentives — VW received $577 million in incentives from Tennessee to open a Chattanooga plant in the state — and the appeal of avoiding union stronghold states like Michigan.
Under Tennessee's right-to-work law, workers cannot be forced to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment. In 2022, Tennessee voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment enshrining this law.
Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted twice against unionizing, in 2014 and 2019.
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Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, voted twice against unionizing, in 2014 and 2019.
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What workers hope the UAW will get
Pro-union workers at the plant believe the UAW can help them negotiate better wages, benefits and more flexible leave. Workers there often use their paid leave when the plant closes for a few weeks in the winter and summer to make machine upgrades, and some remain unpaid during that period, according to assembly worker Isaac Meadows. This leaves workers with little time left for sick days or planned vacations.
“The most important thing is we just want a voice,” Meadows said. “VW itself is a great company to work for. However, our local management is not doing a really great job of taking care of people.”
Volkswagen says it respects employees' right to choose
In the employee Q&A provided on websiteVolkswagen says: “We respect the right of our employees to decide on this important issue through a democratic process and to decide who should represent their interests. … We hope that everyone will take the time to review the relevant facts before casting a vote.”
at the same documentVolkswagen points out that even if the union wins the vote, workers are not obligated to become union members, although they will be represented by the UAW.
The automaker has invested more than $4.3 billion in the plant since 2008. In the past two years, Volkswagen has added 1,200 new jobs as it shifts to assembling the all-electric ID.4 SUV.
Winning may 'build momentum'
With tours underway at auto plants across the South, says American University professor Stephen Sylvia, author of… The UAW's southern gambleHe says the Volkswagen election could set a course for what happens next.
“The UAW has been stronger in Chattanooga, and if it succeeds there, it will build momentum,” he says. “If they don't succeed there, it will make it more difficult to organize things elsewhere.”
Next: The Mercedes-Benz plant in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, where workers have petitioned labor officials to hold their own union elections and are awaiting a date.
Jeremy Kimbrel, a longtime Mercedes employee and union leader, says a Chattanooga win would certainly give them a boost.
“It will help alleviate some of the concerns…for new or mid-level workers,” he says. “They'll say, 'You know what, man, it's just about time.'”
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