By almost three to one, skilled trades workers at Volkswagen last week embraced a union during the second United Auto Workers election at the Chattanooga assembly plant. The vote was 108-44.
Although the skilled trades worker unit is considerably smaller than the 1,400 production workers UAW first sought to win almost two years ago, the new foothold is a major victory in the union’s new strategy to move forward with small steps in the South’s growing auto industry.
But what happens now will be interesting. Unlike the circumstances of the February 2014 election, VW isn’t completely on board with the UAW efforts.
The company – embattled with the fallout of its own emissions scandal – challenged the UAW petition for a small unit election last month, preferring a full vote to usher in what some would call a wall-to-wall unit of blue collar workers to provide an Americanized version of a German “works council.” In Germany and at more than 60 VW plants worldwide, the works council confers with VW management about the operation and direction of the plants. VW calls it “co-determination.”
Despite VWs objection, the regional National Labor Relations Board allowed the small-scale election to continue. VW has appealed.