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.
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