Tennessee Volkswagen workers ask for UAW representation vote

Workers at the Volkswagen manufacturing plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, have filed a union election petition with the National Labor Relations Board.The UAW announced Tuesday.

The move could mark the first Tennessee plant to join the UAW since the union won raises and benefits for its members during a strike against the Big Three automakers last year.

“I come from a UAW family, so I’ve seen how having a union can improve your life on and off the job,” Yolanda Peoples, a factory worker, said in a statement. “We are a positive force within our factories. If we win the union, we can negotiate for safer workplaces, people can keep their jobs, and the company can help us.” When my father retired from his UAW membership, he had something to fall back on. VW workers deserve just as much.”

The UAW is moving into non-union manufacturing facilities, particularly in the South, to expand its membership and influence. The union has begun organizing at the Mercedes-Benz manufacturer in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and at the Hyundai plant in Alabama.

The union began its membership drive at VW plants in December and reached a 50% membership rate early last month. The facility previously announced that employees would apply for election if 70% of facility employees signed union cards.

Workers at the same Chattanooga plant, VW’s only U.S. facility, unsuccessfully ran for UAW elections in 2014 and 2019.

Once the election is conducted by the NLRB, a majority of the plant’s approximately 4,000 workers must vote yes to form a union. The date for the election has not been set.

The NLRB announced it will hold a pre-election hearing on the power plant incident on March 26, the Associated Press reported.

Volkswagen said it respects the legal election process.

“We respect our employees’ right to undergo a democratic process and decide who should represent their interests,” the company said in a statement. “We fully support the NLRB’s vote and give all team members the opportunity to vote in privacy on this important decision.”