The UAW is coming! The UAW is coming!
It’s not quite Paul Revere’s famous warning, but it’s true nonetheless. Yes, the United Auto Workers union, having left Detroit a shell of its former glory, has been forced to cast its gaze to the foreign-owned auto plants in the South.
Volkswagen has operated an assembly plant in Chattanooga for the past two years, where it churns out the very popular Passat sedan. The Passat won the 2012 Motor Trend Car of the Year award – which judges models on a variety of value and safety criteria – propelling it to sales of more than 117,000 that year alone (though growth has slowed somewhat in 2013, forcing VW to announce it will cut about 500 jobs).
It’s a shining jewel too tempting for UAW head Bob King to resist. And he’s been busy seeking powerful allies in his campaign to unionize the VW plant, including leaders from IG Metall, Germany’s largest industrial union. IG Metall’s support is crucial to King since the union represents Germany’s Volkswagen workers.
King appears to have been successful in his overtures; IG Metall President Berthold Huber has urged VW Tennessee workers to acquiesce to UAW leadership, saying in a letter: