New UAW Chattanooga president to focus on Volkswagen recognition

photo The Volkswagen assembly plant in Chattanooga builds vehicles.

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The newly elected president of the United Auto Workers local in Chattanooga said Saturday he plans to seek talks soon with Volkswagen plant officials about formally recognizing the union.

"Our purpose is to get recognition," said Mike Cantrell, who has worked at the VW plant for about three and a half years. "My goal is to move forward with recognition. Then ... we'll start bargaining for a contract."

Cantrell, 57, who works in the quality department, won a three-person race for the top job at UAW Local 42 on Friday. Balloting took place at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers offices off Bonny Oaks Drive.

The UAW set up the nondues-paying local in Chattanooga in June after losing a February organizing election at the plant by 53 percent to 47 percent. Since June, the UAW officials said a majority of hourly workers have joined the local and they hope VW will recognize the union without another plant vote.

Cantrell, who lives in Cleveland, Tenn., and has a master's in business administration from Liberty University, said he sees no common ground with a rival group of workers who want to form a union under the American Council of Employees banner.

"I'm not focused on the non-union union," Cantrell said. "We're in place if VW is ready."

But, UAW opponent Mike Burton said ACE is moving ahead, and its supporters have gained about half the needed number of signatures to ask VW to hold another organizing election at the plant.

He said plans are to start educating VW employees on who ACE is and what it will do.

Burton said VW "hasn't said anything whatsoever that they're in cahoots with the UAW" and he doesn't believe Local 42 will gain recognition.

VW has said it has no "formal agreement" with the UAW.

The UAW's membership has plunged over the past couple of decades. The Detroit-based union is focusing on trying to organize foreign automakers' plants in the South such as VW, Mercedes and Nissan.

Cantrell said he'd like to see a works council set up at the VW plant.

"It has worked well all over the world and helped Volkswagen grow so fast," he said about the labor board that VW has in nearly all its plants globally. "Everybody has a stake."

A works council can have blue- and white-collar employees and oversees day-to-day plant issues along with worker training and safety. VW officials have said they'd like to see a works council at the plant, but U.S. labor law calls for a union for the labor board to be set up.

Cantrell said he has always been "a labor person," having been affiliated with unions in other jobs.

"There's a big gap between rich and poor," he said. "Nobody is fighting for the working-class person. I'm doing my part to advance that cause."

Also selected to the local's leadership were Steve Cochran, vice president; Chris Brown, financial secretary/treasurer; and Myra Montgomery, Troy Hunt, and Marc Lemmon, trustees. A runoff election will be held for recording secretary and sergeant-at-arms.

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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