UAW continues pressure on VW Chattanooga

Gary Casteel, secretary-treasurer of the United Auto Workers, speaks during a news conference Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, in Spring Hill, Tenn. The United Auto Workers and German trade union IG Metall will open a joint office to promote unionization among manufacturers and suppliers in the South. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Gary Casteel, secretary-treasurer of the United Auto Workers, speaks during a news conference Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015, in Spring Hill, Tenn. The United Auto Workers and German trade union IG Metall will open a joint office to promote unionization among manufacturers and suppliers in the South. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

Not long after Gary Casteel landed a pipefitter-welding job at Ford Motor Co.'s glass plant in Nashville almost three decades ago, he set off on a mission: expand the United Auto Workers' reach throughout the Southeast.

Now as a top UAW officer based in Detroit, the Florence, Ala., native's organizing drive echoes still in Tennessee and Mississippi, states whose union representation rates are among the nation's lowest.

On Wednesday, Casteel urged the 1 million active and retired UAW members throughout the nation to sign a petition intended to pressure Volkswagen AG executives in Germany over their labor relations decisions at the 3,200-employee VW assembly plant in Chattanooga.

See the Commercial Appeal for the full story.

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