VW may take months on Chattanooga UAW issue

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

photo This aerial photo shows the Volkswagen plant at Enterprise South.

Volkswagen will not grant immediate union recognition to its U.S. workers and may take months to reach agreement on a German-style works council for its Chattanooga plant, a company official said on Wednesday.

Talks with the United Auto Workers are likely to continue into next year, said Sebastian Patta, human resources chief at the factory, according to Reuters.

VW must resolve some complex legal issues before setting up a U.S. works council. "This is a very sensitive subject and we have only just started the dialogue."

The German carmaker told Chattanooga staff earlier this month it was in talks with the UAW on representation. The union announced last week it had collected signed cards from a majority of the plant's 2,500 workers backing recognition.

The UAW has said it's continuing to seek cards from employees, and it hasn't stated how much of a majority it has of the workforce.

VW still has to decide whether to recognize the union on the basis of the card count or go ahead with a ballot on whether to recognize the union.