A rival to the United Auto Workers in Chattanooga says it will not try to get on the ballot to gain the representation of the 164 maintenance workers at Volkswagen’s assembly plant.
An American Council of Employees spokesman said the group isn’t organizing small subgroups of employees and so it won’t ask the National Labor Relations Board to put the group’s name alongside the UAW Local 42 when a vote takes place, tentatively set for Nov. 5-6.
“Our group is interested in working with all team members at VW,” said Maury Nicely, a Chattanooga attorney representing ACE.
Under NLRB rules, ACE could have sought a place on the ballot, permitting the maintenance workers to vote for it, the UAW or for no union, Nicely said.
Last Friday, UAW Local 42 filed a petition with the NLRB for a vote of the maintenance, or skilled trades, workers for the purposes of collective bargaining. Maintenance workers keep up and fix the sophisticated equipment at the plant.