If the United Auto Workers is confident of the support of the 55 percent of blue-collar workers the union says it has signed up at the Volkswagen plant, why wouldn’t it request a vote of all blue-collar workers for representation?
Instead, the union’s Local 42 says it wants a vote of only the 164 full- and part-time maintenance, or skilled trades, workers at the plant. It has asked the National Labor Relations Board for such a vote on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6.
The ploy seems an attempt to get a toe in the door for at least some collective bargaining representation since the union lost a vote by all blue-collar workers at the plant 712-626 in February 2014. It also states without stating that the UAW may not be confident it could win another vote of all blue-collar workers and that it felt rebuffed when Volkswagen turned down the union’s request for bargaining recognition in August.
The union, after all, has been desperate to break into the representation of workers for foreign automakers who chose to locate in the South because of the lack of UAW’s presence in the region.
Further, union spokespersons have denied any linkage, but the request for a vote early next month comes at the worst possible time for Volkswagen, which is in the midst of dealing with a massive emissions technology scandal.
The last thing the automaker needs now, when the future of the company is on the line, is the insertion of a controversial vote into the problems it is juggling.
The American Council of Employees, which says it has signed up 381 hourly and salaried employees for representation locally, believes Volkswagen’s peril is exactly why the UAW is requesting the vote.
“This is a time of great stress and uncertainty for VW-Chattanooga employees and the Volkswagen organization as a whole,” ACE President David Reed said. “It is unfortunate, however, that the UAW would try to take advantage of the current situation by demanding an immediate election. This is an obvious attempt to use fear to further divide VW-Chattanooga employees.”
For most of the last year, VW officials have been meeting with both UAW’s Local 42 and ACE, according to its Community Organization Engagement policy guidelines, and a spokesman for the company said VW looks forward to that continuing.
“We are very pleased with the conversations taking place,” spokesman Scott Wilson said.
A Volkswagen company with all parties at the table is a company that is making decisions with all employees in mind. We believe that is best.