Signs from the UAW’s unsuccessful campaign in Chattanooga.View our Volkswagen/UAW special page with timeline, slideshow, local and national coverage and opinions
The U.S. Department of Justice says in a legal brief that neither Volkswagen nor the United Auto Workers violated federal law in their election agreement prior to the February vote at the automaker’s Chattanooga plant.
The DOJ, joined by attorneys for the U.S. Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board, said labor law doesn’t prohibit terms of the election agreement. They also said that the three VW employees who filed the federal suit should have brought unfair labor practice charges with the NLRB.
The employees allege in the suit that VW gave the union access to names and facilities at the Chattanooga plant in exchange for the UAW holding down costs if it won the organizing vote at the factory. The UAW lost by a 53 percent to 47 percent margin.
Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Foundation, termed it “extremely unusual” for the Obama Administration to file a legal brief at the district court level.