Following a six-week-long strike against the Detroit Big Three automakers last fall, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union reached a tentative agreement on a new master contract with Ford, which was ratified just a few weeks later. Fresh off that big win, the union set its signs on organizing other automakers that operate facilities in the U.S., including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and Hyundai, to name just a few, while also supporting efforts to do the same in Mexico as well. The union collected a considerable number of signatures early on in that process, and now, those efforts have paid off as Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tennessee have officially voted to join the UAW.
The union noted that while not all of the votes have been tallied yet, enough are in support of the move to officially declare it – making the VW plant the first operated by an automaker outside of the Big Three in the southern U.S. to do so. It could soon be joined by Mercedes-Benz, however, as those workers are set to vote on the same matter in Vance, Alabama next month. Regardless, it’s clear that the UAW’s contract result with Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis had an impact on this organizing effort.
“We saw the big contract that UAW workers won at the Big Three and that got everybody talking,” said Zachary Costello, a trainer in VW’s proficiency room. “You see the pay, the benefits, the rights UAW members have on the job, and you see how that would change your life. That’s why we voted overwhelmingly for the union. Once people see the difference a union makes, there’s no way to stop them.”
Notably, Ford is also in the process of erecting its own BlueOval City campus in Tennessee, where the UAW is also working to ensure that the future facility is unionized as well. Meanwhile, UAW President Shawn Fain continues to earn his own fair share of accolades, a list that includes being named MotorTrend‘s 2024 Person of the Year, and making Time Magazine‘s list of the 100 Most Influential People of 2024.
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Comments
I predict that this plant will be closed in less than 3 years.
Layoffs anyone ?
And as Ross Perot once said you’ll hear that giant sucking sound as VW moves this production to their Mexican plant.