Riding the wave of recent UAW victories, workers at the Chattanooga, TN Volkswagen plant are pushing to unionize. Since early December 2023, workers have been engaging in a campaign to form a union. This would be a significant victory for labor as the plant employs around 5,500 workers. Of these, 4,100 are eligible for union membership.
In less than 60 days of the current drive, over half of eligible workers had signed cards expressing their desire to have UAW representation. In the months ahead, organizers at the plant will need to continue their efforts. Once 70% of eligible plant workers sign their cards in favor of union representation, the UAW will file a request that Volkswagen voluntarily recognize their representation. If the company refuses, the union will ask the National Labor Relations Board to step in and hold an election. The UAW hopes that with a majority of support, Volkswagen will be forced to recognize the union. Whether this can be accomplished remains to be seen, but the current momentum is a good sign.
This plant which opened in 2009 has previously seen union drives in 2014 and 2019 where the UAW lost by narrow margins. As with the previous attempts, union organizers will have to overcome union busting tactics by not just the company, but State political leaders who led the anti-union campaigns in the first two unionization efforts. Labor Today stands firmly in solidarity with the workers in their quest for union representation and will stay on top of the events as they happen.
