ACE, with 381 VW members, bills itself as UAW alternative

Mike Burton sits in the meeting room of the new location of the American Council of Employees headquarters off Bonny Oaks Drive near Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Tuesday, November 11, 2014. Mike Burton sits in the meeting room of the new location of the American Council of Employees headquarters off Bonny Oaks Drive near Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

By Wire Service, Staff Report May 28, 2015 3 min read

Mike Burton sits in the meeting room of the new location of the American Council of Employees headquarters off Bonny Oaks Drive near Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Tenn., on Tuesday, November 11, 2014.

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The rival group to the United Auto Workers union at the Volkswagen plant in Tennessee brands itself as local, independent and free of outside influence or political agenda.

But the group called the American Council of Employees won’t divulge how they are funded, and the lawyer who recently filed overdue disclosures with the U.S. Department of Labor touts his expertise in “union avoidance.”

ACE has 381 members among both hourly and salaried workers at the Chattanooga factory, according to the filing. By contrast, the UAW said last month it had 816 members among the hourly workers alone. That’s about 55 percent of the blue-collar workforce.